Hvivo, a pharmaceutical services company formerly known as Open Orphan, said it remained on track to hit its future growth targets after another record year in 2023.
The company is set to begin paying annual dividends, subject to approval at the upcoming annual general meeting, with around £1.4 million (€1.63m) shared out among shareholders at 0.20p per ordinary share. The company paid a one-off special dividend of £3.1 million in 2023.
Revenue at the company, which specialises in testing infectious and respiratory disease products, rose 16 per cent to £56 million, and expects to hit £64 million this year, it said, as its human challenge trials business showed organic growth. Human challenge trials are a type of clinical trial for a vaccine or other pharmaceutical involving the intentional exposure of the test subject to the condition tested.
hVIVO plc (formerly Open Orphan plc), led by Cathal Friel, is a rapidly growing specialist contract research organisation (CRO) and the world leader in testing infectious and respiratory disease vaccines and antivirals using human challenge clinical trials, providing end-to-end early clinical development services for its broad and long-standing client base of biopharma companies.