Shares in Hvivo, a UK-based medical and scientific research firm, were up 35p to trade at 65.1p after the company announced on Monday it had moved nearer to discovering a universal flu vaccine.
The share price move followed what Hvivo termed a “significant advance in the management of influenza disease” after seeing positive results in a phase llb trial of its FLU-v treatment.
On Wednesday morning Hvivo shares were trading higher still, hitting 86.5p before dipping slightly to 79p and then levelling around 72p. However, they remain down about 70% over the last calendar year.
The move shows a sharp reversal in fortune for a company that in April issued a statement after its shares plummeted about 50% noting the “sudden and extreme fall” in its share price and admitting it “knows of no reason for such a fall”.
It said at the time it was optimistic that its investment in FLU-v had “potentially significant future value”.
Earlier this week, analysts at Numis Securities reissued a buy rating on the firm.
Woodford Investment Management holds a 18.6% stake, but the stock represents just 0.04% of the Woodford Equity Income fund.
Invesco Limited holds a 27.2% stake, while Janus Henderson Investors holds 3.6%.
Earlier this year, Woodford reinforced his conviction in American biotech firm Prothena after the firm’s shares crashed 70% on the back of deciding not to continue development of its lead drug NEOD001.
Woodford’s Prothena holding became the focal point of the latest annual results for his Patient Capital Trust.
Phase II trials are the most common hurdle a drug falls at, when tests are carried out on 100-3oo patients, the “b” phase typically refers to trials to establish optimum dosage.
