Open Orphan posts maiden loss as listed company

Open Orphan, the pharma services business which completed a reverse takeover into clinical trials group Venn Life Sciences earlier this year, made a €1.8 million loss in the first half of the year before its takeover of Venn.

The rare and orphan drug consulting services company had cash and cash equivalents of €5.1 million at the end of June, having completed a £4.5 million (€5.08 million) share placing earlier in the month.

Open Orphan was founded in July 2017 and completed its reverse takeover of Venn as the first step in “consolidating the European orphan pharma services business”.

The AIM-listed company posted an earnings loss of €1.5 million in the six month period on revenue of €5.8 million compared to €7.8 million when Venn was listed in the first half of 2018.

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Overheads

Since completing the reverse takeover, Open Orphan has continued to reduce overheads in the business including by leasing surplus office space to third parties and improve initiatives to “resolve staff under utilisation”.

"We have a clear growth strategy targeting the fast-growing market for orphan drugs. The management team and board have a strong track record and we are confident in our abilities to generate significant shareholder returns," said chairman Brendan Buckley.