Latest news with #Hvivo
Business Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Post
Shares in Irish-founded Hvivo plummet 46% as clinical trials firm loses major contract
Shares in Hvivo closed down just over 46 per cent after it revealed it has lost a major human challenge trial (HCT) contract 'alongside a ...
Business Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Post
What the Papers Say: O'Leary double windfall; Jamie Dimon says bond market will crack; Trump 50% steel tariff threat
10 am - Good morning from the Business Post newsroom. Editor Daniel McConnell here with your Saturday morning spin through the stories making the headlines in Ireland and across the world. Michael O'Leary unlocks double Ryanair windfall thanks to share price rise Ryanair's rising share price over the past month has delivered a double windfall to Michael O'Leary, the Irish Independent reports. The high-profile businessman has met a key condition to lock in a shares bonus worth around €128m after Ryanair stock closed above €21 for a 28th straight day on Thursday. As long as O'Leary is still in his job in July 2028, he now has a right to buy 10 million Ryanair shares at €11.12 each – less than half the current value. The rising share price also pays off in the short term for Mr O'Leary, lifting the value of the 44.1 million shares he already owns. That stake has increased in value by €128m since the start of May, as Ryanair shares rose from €20.43 each to €23.34 a share by Friday afternoon. Shares in Hvivo nosedive as it loses key contract and postpones another Shares in Irish clinical trials company Hvivo plummeted more than 47 per cent on Friday after the group told investors of the cancellation of a 'significant' contract and the postponement of another, the Irish Times reports. The company, which is listed in London, informed the market on Friday it had received notification of the cancellation of a 'significant human challenge trial', alongside the postponement of another, as well as the cancellation of a 'smaller study'. The share price closed down just over 46 per cent. Human challenge trials, where products are tested on humans in a controlled environment, make up a significant portion of the group's business. Jamie Dimon warns US bond market will 'crack' under pressure from rising debt Jamie Dimon has warned that the US bond market will 'crack' under the weight of the country's rising debt as he called on Donald Trump's administration to place America on a more sustainable trajectory. The JPMorgan Chase chief executive said on Friday that he had cautioned regulators: 'You are going to see a crack in the bond market.' He added: 'I'm telling you this is going to happen. And you are going to panic. I'm not going to panic. We'll be fine.' The warning from the head of the US's biggest bank about mounting risks for the US bond market — which sets borrowing costs for trillions of dollars in debt globally — underscores how Wall Street is growing increasingly uneasy about rising government debt levels. It comes as Congress is reviewing Trump's 'big, beautiful' budget bill, which if passed is broadly expected to markedly increase the federal deficit. Donald Trump says he will double steel and aluminium tariffs to 50% Donald Trump said he would double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from 25 per cent to 50 per cent in a fresh escalation of his global trade war, the Financial Times reports. The US president unveiled the increased levies as he touted a $15bn partnership between Nippon Steel and US Steel at a rally in Pennsylvania, promising to erect a tariff 'fence' around domestic metals production. 'We're going to bring it from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry,' he told the crowd in West Mifflin. 'Nobody is going to get around that . . . At 25 per cent, they can sort of get over that fence. At 50 per cent they can no longer get over the fence.' The new levies will take effect from June 4, the president wrote in a Truth Social post following the rally. Trump has sought to revitalise America's industrial heartlands by aggressively targeting what he sees as dumping by foreign importers. In March, he slapped 25 per cent levies on steel and aluminium imports in one of the first broadsides of his global trade war. Musk exits Trump administration but claims Doge 'just the beginning' US president Donald Trump praised billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to cut federal spending during a joint press conference in the Oval Office on Friday, as the Tesla chief departs the administration after a chaotic tenure that saw the elimination of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in contracts. Mr Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), disrupted numerous agencies across the federal bureaucracy but ultimately fell far short of the massive savings he had initially promised. A White House official said on Wednesday that Mr Musk would be leaving the administration. "Elon has worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform programme in generations," Mr Trump said from behind the Resolute Desk, as Musk stood to his right, wearing a black Doge hat and a t-shirt that read "The Dogefather" in the style of the movie "The Godfather."
Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Times
Hvivo blames US trade disruption for halving in share price
Uncertainty caused by trade disruption in the United States and an adverse funding environment has resulted in the cancellation of a big contract for Hvivo, sending shares in the tester of infectious and respiratory disease products sharply lower. The Aim-listed group said that one of its clients had cancelled a 'significant' contract and another had postponed a smaller one, which Hvivo believes was a result of 'current uncertainties in the pharmaceuticals industry', particularly in the US. This had led to an increase in cancellations and delays of clinical trials across the industry, the company said, also citing a 'continued depressed biotech financing market'. Hvivo infects volunteers with safe doses of virus agents then quarantines them before testing the efficacy of vaccines and antivirals in so-called human challenge trials. The company, formerly known as Open Orphan and once a large holding in Woodford Capital's Equity Income Fund, provides clinical development services to clients that include a number of the world's biggest biopharmaceutical groups, such as Pfizer. It said it had £47 million of revenue contracted for the present financial year, including cancellation and postponement fees, and anticipated further contract wins over the course of the year. The company warned, however, that if these contract wins did not materialise then it was likely that the group would fall to a mid-single-digit operating loss for the year. All but one of the contacts for 2025 have started, Hvivo said, giving management confidence that 'there is a low risk of any further cancellations'. Shares in Hvivo more than halved in value during morning trading before paring some losses. They ended the day down 7½p, or 46.3 per cent, at 8¾p. • Biotech boss takes clinical approach to acquiring unloved assets Dr Yamin 'Mo' Khan, chief executive at Hvivo, said: 'Whilst we are disappointed to have received notification from these clients due to matters beyond our control, we still remain confident in the continued growth of human clinical trials and the overall prospects of Hvivo as we also continue to diversify our revenue streams.' Analysts at Shore Capital said concerns of a slowdown in the contract research organisation sector had also been flagged by Hvivo's larger peers, who have cited more cautious spending and clients delaying their decision making. 'Some of the negative narrative towards vaccines from Trump appointees at the US health department and the US Food and Drug Administration has clearly been an added cause for concern,' Sean Conroy, an analyst at Shore Capital, said. 'We would still caution against forming any endemic view towards vaccine development and the longer-term prospects of the human clinical trial business.'
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Shares in Hvivo nosedive as it loses key contract and postpones another
Shares in Irish clinical trials company Hvivo plummeted more than 47 per cent on Friday after the group told investors of the cancellation of one 'significant' contract and the postponement of another. The company, which is listed in London, informed the market on Friday it had received notification of the cancellation of a 'significant human challenge trial', alongside the postponement of another, as well as the cancellation of a 'smaller study'. Human challenge trials, where products are tested on humans in a controlled environment, make up a significant portion of the group's business. Hvivo said the client decisions are believed to be related to the 'current uncertainties' in the pharmaceutical industry and the 'continued depressed' biotech financing market. READ MORE 'The current volatility in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in the US, is impacting the whole contract research organisation industry and has led to an increase in cancellation rates, postponement of clinical trials, and delays in approvals for new projects,' it said. The group's board said it 'remains confident' the underlying concept of human challenge trials and their place in the drug development process is 'stronger than ever'. It said the company's sales pipeline is at a 'record level' and includes some 'large, high probability opportunities' that are in 'advanced discussions', and which could commence in late 2025 and provide significant revenues in its full year 2026. The company currently has £47 million (€56 million) of revenue contracted for its full year 2025, which is inclusive of cancellation and postponement fees. It said it expects to achieve further contract wins during the course of the year, but that should these not materialise, revenues of £47 million would result in a mid-single digit operating loss before exceptional items for the full year. All but one of the contracts for 2025 have already commenced and the board believes there is 'a low risk' of any further cancellations. Hvivo gave revenue guidance in April of £73 million for 2025 and said 70 per cent of that was contracted. Davy analyst Colin Grant pointed out this implies it had contracts of around £51 million on its books at that time. 'The company is now saying that it has £47 million of contracted revenue,' he said. 'This includes some cancellation fees.' Mr Grant said Hvivo is 'likely' to win more contracts during the remainder of the year, which 'could boost revenues and earnings'. He said the company is 'net cash' so remains in a 'strong position to execute its strategy of building a sustainable and diversified business'. He added that the role of human challenge trials in the drug development industry 'remains extremely favourable'. The company said it will provide further clarity around outlook later in the year and will update the market as new contracts are signed. Hvivo chief executive Dr Yamin 'Mo' Khan said he was 'disappointed' by the developments, but is 'still confident in the continued growth of human challenge trials and the overall prospects' for the company.
