hVIVO PLC (AIM:HVO) chief executive, Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan, talked with Proactive about the company’s latest contract win with a new European biotech client for an influenza human challenge trial.
Khan explained that the trial is set to begin almost immediately, with most of the revenue expected to be recognised in 2026 and additional contributions extending into 2027. This marks the third human challenge trial contract secured by hVIVO in recent months, reflecting what Khan described as a clear improvement in market activity compared to the slowdown experienced in 2025.
He highlighted a “significant uptick” in both pipeline opportunities and contract conversions, driven in part by the company’s strengthened sales efforts. Importantly, hVIVO is now announcing full clinical trial agreements rather than earlier-stage startup agreements, reducing cancellation risk and accelerating the timeline to revenue recognition.
Khan also outlined the company’s broader strategic progress, noting that diversification efforts in 2025 led to the development of four core business pillars, including consulting, clinical trials, laboratory services, and human challenge trials. Despite this diversification, hVIVO has continued to expand its core capabilities, including new influenza and human metapneumovirus (HMPV) challenge models.
Looking ahead, Khan said the company has strong visibility over its 2026 revenue and remains on track to deliver high single-digit growth. He added: “We are on target for that. But this contract also helped us to cement some of the revenue visibility going into 2027.”
Proactive: Mo very good to speak with you this morning. Could you start by giving us a short overview of the contract signed today?
Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan: Yes, of course. So this is a new client, a new European biotech, that has contracted to run an influenza human trial with us. It will start almost immediately, with the majority of the revenue being recognized in 2026 and some flowing into 2027. So very pleased to have signed this third human challenge trial contract in the recent months.
Proactive: As you mentioned, this is the third human challenge trial you've announced this year. Is this evidence of a pickup in the area?
Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan: Well, absolutely. Especially relative to 2025 where we saw a downturn, I think 2026 has seen a significant uptick. We have previously reported a significant rise in the pipeline of opportunities. We have been working with our sales team, so it's good to see some of those opportunities now being contracted into full contracts.
On the back of Iliad and Traws and now this new influenza human challenge trial, we've seen a good uptick. One thing of note is that we are only announcing full clinical trial agreements, not the startup agreements that we had previously done. This startup agreement was signed several months ago, so announcing the full contract means a lower probability of cancellation and a shorter time to revenue recognition.
So it's a huge plus for us as a company, but also for the Human Challenge service line.
Proactive: You've spoken about your newly diversified offerings. Have you also progressed your human challenge services?
Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan: A good point. In 2025, we used that time to diversify into four different pillars: consulting, human challenge trials, clinical trials, and laboratory services. This allows us to provide an end-to-end service platform across multiple therapeutic areas, not just infectious diseases.
At the same time, we expanded our challenge model portfolio. We added a new human metapneumovirus (HMPV) challenge model and updated our influenza challenge models. This client has signed using one of our newer influenza models.
So while we have focused on diversification, it has not come at the cost of the human challenge trial business. We’ve seen a good uptick and remain the world leader in this field.
Proactive: How does this latest contract impact your future outlook?
Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan: We entered 2026 with an order book of around £30 million, with about £25 million expected to be recognized in 2026. We still had work to convert the pipeline into revenue.
With the signing of these three human challenge trial contracts and additional smaller deals, we now have strong visibility into 2026. We previously said we are aiming for high single-digit growth from 2025 to 2026, and we are on target for that.
This contract also helps cement revenue visibility into 2027.
Proactive: Congratulations on this latest win. Thank you for your time.