# Open Orphan Contract to support Phase II river blindness drug trial

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/open-orphan-contract-to-support-phase-ii-river-blindness-drug-trial/4121013409
- Published: 2021-07-30T11:12:01+01:00
- Author: Giles

**Open Orphan plc** ([LON:ORPH](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/company/open-orphan-plc/orph.l)),
a rapidly growing specialist clinical research organisation (CRO) which is the world
leader in testing vaccines and antivirals using human challenge clinical trials,
has announced a contract to supply consultancy services to support a Phase II trial
in Onchocerciasis Disease, an infectious disease commonly known as river blindness.

[Venn Life Sciences](http://www.vennlifesciences.com/) (“Venn”) , a subsidiary of
Open Orphan, will provide Data Management & Biostatistics services to support the
Phase II trial of an antibiotic drug candidate for Drugs for Neglected Diseases 
_initiative_ (“DND_i_“), a not-for-profit research organisation developing new affordable
and patient-friendly treatments for neglected patients around the world. DND_i_ 
was founded in 2003 by Médecins Sans Frontières, the World Health Organisation, 
and five international research institutions.

The Venn team in the Paris office will provide support for the trial, taking place
in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to evaluate the product ABBV-4083, owned by
AbbVie and licensed to DND_i_, 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 commenced.

Venn offers a unique set of high quality,  innovative, methodology,  data management
and biostatistics services utilising the very best technologies and clinical trial
expertise to help their clients have access to their data faster and at a lower 
cost. Venn’s portfolio of services range from design conception, through to data-
acquisition and management activities to the analysis, reporting and exploitation
of the results and their subsequent presentation for submission to the appropriate
regulatory authorities and/or publication. Venn offer a fully standardised and compliant
methodology for collating, validating and presenting real-time information to their
clinical partners.

> **Cathal Friel, Executive Chairman of Open Orphan, said: **“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. 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.”

> **Sabine Specht, Head of the Filarial Clinical Programme at DND_i_, said: **“We
> are delighted that Open Orphan has joined DNDi, AbbVie and multiple partners involved
> in the development of ABBV-4083 for those at risk or suffering from onchocerciasis.
> The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most affected countries by this
> debilitating disease, so it is especially important that our clinical trials will
> take place there, where we will be working with national authorities to test out
> this potentially innovative treatment.”

> **Cathal went on to tell DirectorsTalk** “We are pleased to announce the Venn 
> team in Paris, will provide Data Management & Biostatistics services to Drugs 
> for Neglected Diseases_initiative_(“DND_i_”) as part of the Phase II trial of 
> AbbVie’s antibiotic drug candidate for the treatment of Onchocerciasis Disease,
> an infectious disease commonly known as river blindness. Drugs for Neglected Diseases_initiative_(“
> DND_i_”) is a not-for-profit research organisation developing new affordable and
> patient-friendly treatments for neglected patients around the world.DNDi was founded
> in 2003 by Médecins Sans Frontières, the World Health Organisation, and five international
> research institutions.     
> Venn Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Open Orphan, offers a unique set of high quality,
> innovative, methodology, data management and biostatistics services utilising 
> the very best technologies and clinical trial expertise to help their clients 
> have access to their data faster and at a lower cost. Venn’s portfolio of services
> range from design conception, through to data-acquisition and management activities
> to the analysis, reporting and exploitation of the results and their subsequent
> presentation for submission to the appropriate regulatory authorities and/or publication.

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