hVIVO PLC (AIM:HVO), the human challenge trial specialist, has signed a £6 million agreement to test a monoclonal antibody treatment for influenza on behalf of an unnamed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.
The contract covers a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled human challenge trial (HCT), in which healthy volunteers are deliberately exposed to a pathogen under controlled conditions to evaluate a drug's effectiveness.
The study will take place at hVIVO's quarantine facilities in Canary Wharf, London, with participants recruited through the company's FluCamp arm and laboratory analysis conducted in-house by its specialist virology team.
Revenue from the contract will be recognised across 2026 and 2027, with the study expected to begin this year.
hVIVO said the deal, alongside other recently announced contracts, provides materially improved revenue visibility for 2026.
Chief executive Yamin 'Mo' Khan said hVIVO's integrated model, combining recruitment, clinical operations and virology analytics, allows clients to evaluate novel assets "rapidly and rigorously."
Chief scientific officer Andrew Catchpole said the company's influenza challenge model is designed to characterise how a virus behaves in the body and how the immune system responds, enabling early-stage assessment of new drugs.
Seasonal influenza affects an estimated one billion people annually, causing between three million and five million severe cases and up to 650,000 deaths each year.
hVIVO has to date inoculated more than 5,000 healthy volunteers across 2,477 challenge trials covering influenza, RSV and other respiratory viruses.