# Open Orphan New contract win with Oxford BioTherapeutics

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/open-orphan-new-contract-win-with-oxford-biotherapeutics/412966769
- Published: 2021-03-09T07:25:17+00:00
- Author: Giles

**Open Orphan plc** ([LON:ORPH](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/company/open-orphan-plc/orph.l)),
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.”

> **Cathal went on to tell DirectorsTalk:** Our Paris team have signed a new contract
> with Oxford BioTherapeutics, a clinical stage oncology company headquartered in
> the UK. For this study, which is due to start immediately, the Venn Paris team
> will deliver high-quality data management and biostats 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.
> We are delighted to see the Venn team continuing to sign regular contracts with
> both old and new customers which is a transformation since we acquired it back
> in June 2019. Despite having had to cut back the overall headcount in Paris substantially
> post acquisition to get it on a profitable footing for the first time in its history,
> we are delighted that the remaining team members are now highly motivated, productive,
> and are delivering great services.
> The team is now not only providing these services to third party pharma customers
> but our Paris colleagues are now fully integrated to the overall Open Orphan business
> and are providing data management and biostats services to the London offices’
> challenge study team. In the past, the London office outsourced data management
> and biostats to a third party provider, and as such would have lost a certain 
> amount of profit margin through this outsourcing. However, the full profit margin
> is now being retained within the Open Orphan group and is incorporated into our
> overall growth profile and profits going forward. 

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