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.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 44 per cent to £13 million.
Hvivo said it ended the year with a weighted order book of £80 million, with 90 per cent of 2024 revenue already contracted. It expects to reach £62 million in revenue for 2024, with the company targeting £100 million in revenue for 2028, with the majority achieved through sustained organic growth of the human challenge business, expansion of services, and strategic bolt-on acquisitions.
“In 2023 we experienced yet another year of growth in the human challenge trial sector, driven by increased recognition among Big Pharma and biotech firms of the compelling evidence supporting the efficacy of Hvivo’s human challenge trials in expediting the development of novel vaccines and antivirals,” said Dr Yamin “Mo” Khan, chief executive of Hvivo.
“Our exceptional financial performance, marked by record revenues, margins and profitability, coupled with the significant number of volunteers inoculated, underscores not only the expansion of the market but also our ability and capacity to meet the increasing demand.”
Hvivo is set to open a new expanded facility in London’s Canary Wharf in the first half of this year. The new facility will house quarantine bedrooms, advanced laboratories, an outpatient unit and corporate offices, and will facilitate further growth in revenue.
The company said it intends to commence its first challenge trial in the unit this month.
Hvivo was formed when chairman Cathal Friel reversed his pharma services business, then known as Open Orphan, into Dublin-listed drug clinical trials manager Venn Life Sciences. It rebranded as Hvivo in 2022.
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