hVIVO lauds sales pipeline and large contract as revenues jump

20th Sep 2018 11:58

(Sharecast News) - Drug development services provider hVIVO achieved its "strongest potential sales pipeline" for several years, executive chairman Trevor Phillips said on Thursday.Expectations remain unchanged for the full-year, with a higher level of sales projected for the second half and hopes to add to its sales pipeline as only a small number of the current probable contracts would fill next year's quarantine capacity.For the six months ended 30 June, the company delivered revenues of £4.9m, up 26% from the same period last year, while the group also signed an £11.9m contract that will start to contribute to revenues from October and extend through 2019."We are experiencing a lot of interest from leading pharmaceutical companies for the development of new challenge models in RSV, asthma and COPD and we expect to be able to convert a number of these into contracts that will further enhance our service offerings," said Phillips.With the help of the aforementioned boost in revenue and a reduction in research and development costs, the AIM-traded company's losses dropped from £9.1m to £5.3m.The firm's cash and cash equivalents at 30 June were down from £15.4m to £10.7m.The period also saw the group's flu vaccine FLU-v perform strongly in a Phase II trial, with talks now underway to find a partner or even move to sell Imutex, the joint venture with SEEK that is responsible for the development of FLU-v."The company's breadth and depth of capabilities and know-how for the design and delivery of human challenge studies provides the basis for a strong outlook for the remainder of the year and beyond. We aim to create a stronger range of services that, alongside our operational efficiencies, will enable hVIVO to be profitable and generate cash from its operations in 2019," said Phillips.hVIVO's shares were down 3.12% at 62.00p at 1159 BST.