Open Orphan PLC (AIM:ORPH, FRA:CRO) secured a contract to supply consultancy services to support a Phase II trial in Onchocerciasis Disease, an infectious disease commonly known as river blindness.
Its subsidiary Venn Life Sciences will provide Data Management & Biostatistics services to support the Phase II trial of an antibiotic drug candidate for Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a not-for-profit research organisation developing new affordable and patient-friendly treatments for neglected patients around the world.
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DNDi was founded in 2003 by Médecins Sans Frontières, the World Health Organisation and five international research institutions.
The trial is taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is evaluating ABBV-4083, owned by AbbVie and licensed to DNDi, as a potential antibiotic treatment for patients with Onchocerciasis, the second-most common cause of blindness due to infection after trachoma.
ABBV-4083 was identified by a screening of anti-infective compounds led by the pharmaceutical company AbbVie and the anti-Wolbachia consortium A-WOL at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
The study has already started, the AIM-listed group noted.
"We are delighted to announce another contract win for the business which underpins our confidence in the continued growth we expect to see in 2021,” said Open Orphan’s executive chairman Cathal Friel.
“Our teams have a unique knowledge of multiple clinical data management systems and our team of biostatisticians have extensive experience to bring to bear on such studies. We're very proud to be working with DNDi to support their development of what could be a game-changing drug to help people affected by river blindness in some of the world's poorest nations."