New contract win with Oxford BioTherapeutics

9 March 2021

Open Orphan plc

("Open Orphan" or the "Company")

New contract win with Oxford BioTherapeutics

Open Orphan plc (AIM: ORPH), a rapidly growing specialist pharmaceutical services CRO and a world leader in vaccine and antiviral testing using human challenge clinical trials, announces its subsidiary Venn Life Sciences ("Venn") has been awarded a contract for a study with Oxford BioTherapeutics, a clinical stage oncology company with a pipeline of immune-oncology and antibody-drug conjugate-based therapies.

This is a phase I, open-label, dose finding study which will be used to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary efficacy of OBT076, a CD205-directed antibody-drug conjugate, in recurrent and/or metastatic CD205-positive solid tumours and in women with CD205-positive HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

For this study, the Venn Paris team will deliver high-quality data management and statistics services. Venn's team in Paris are highly regarded in the field as one of the leading providers in this area which is a perfect complement to the Company's London offering. The study is due to start immediately.

Cathal Friel, Executive Chairman, Open Orphan, commented: "We are delighted to be in a position to announce another contract win for the Paris team. This deal further demonstrates Open Orphan's ability to execute on its significant pipeline of contracts with important pharmaceutical businesses.

"Oxford BioTherapeutics is a clinical stage oncology company with a pipeline of first-in-class therapies aiming to fulfil major unmet patient needs by targeting difficult-to-treat cancers. The Venn team are looking forward to assisting with the study and providing the preliminary data required to advance this breast cancer trial."

Dr Rahim Fandi, MD, PhD Oxford BioTherapeutics CMO commented: "We are delighted to work with Venn and are sure that Oxford BioTherapeutics will benefit from their expertise."

For further information please contact:

Notes to Editors

Open Orphan plc (London and Euronext: ORPH) is a rapidly growing pharmaceutical service/contract research company that is a world leader in testing vaccines and antivirals using human challenge clinical trials. The company provides services to Big Pharma, biotech and government/public health organisations.

Open Orphan runs challenge studies in London from both its 19-bedroom Whitechapel quarantine clinic, opened in February 2021, and its 24-bedroom QMB clinic which also has a highly specialised virology and immunology laboratory on-site. Open Orphan has a leading portfolio of eight human challenge study models for conditions such as RSV, flu, asthma and COPD. In addition, Open Orphan is also developing the world's first COVID-19 human challenge study model as part of the Human Challenge Programme and has signed a reservation contract with the UK Government for the first three COVID-19 vaccine challenge studies.

Building upon its many years of challenge studies and virology research, the Company is developing an in-depth database of infectious disease progression data. Based on the Company's Disease in Motion® platform, this unique dataset includes clinical, immunological, virological and digital (wearable) biomarkers. The Disease in Motion platform has many potential applications across a wide variety of end users including big technology, wearables, pharma and biotech companies. Following COVID-19 there is now a renewed interest and investment in infectious diseases.

Open Orphan's Paris office has been providing biometry, data management and statistics to its many European pharmaceutical clients for over 20 years. For over 15 years, the Company's Netherlands office has been providing drug development consultancy and services, including CMC (chemistry, manufacturing and controls), PK and medical writing, to a broad range of European clients. Both offices are now also fully integrated with the London office and working on challenge study contracts as well as supporting third party trial contracts.