Research group hVIVO PLC has signed a £6.8mln contract with a second Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical company - building on the business development work it has done in the region.
It has been contracted to conduct a phase IIa human challenge study at its quarantine facilities in Whitechapel, London and will evaluate the efficacy of the antiviral against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in healthy volunteers.
Shares in Hvivo were boosted by around 12% in Monday morning's deals, rising 1.98p to 18.73p, bringing the firm's market worth to around £124.5mln.
The trial is expected to start in the first half of 2024 and revenue will mostly be recognised in the same year, investors were told.
RSV is the leading cause of childhood respiratory infections and affects an estimated 50mln people worldwide annually.
It is also responsible for a significant number of hospitalisations and in-hospital deaths in young children and the elderly.
So far, hVIVO has inoculated over 1,600 healthy volunteers in 28 RSV challenge trials and the data has been used to ‘expedite’ the development of several vaccines.
hVIVO chief executive Yamin 'Mo' Khan said: "It is highly encouraging to see our global client list continue to grow and our order book further diversify with our second significant contract with an APAC client.
"We expect to continue this strong momentum in the APAC region, and the rest of the world, as the growing number of biopharma companies recognise the strong value of human challenge models."
--Updated at 9:20am to add share price details--