Chief Financial Officer Succession

hVIVO PLC

15 September 2026

 

hVIVO plc

(“hVIVO”, the “Company" or the “Group”)

Chief Financial Officer Succession

Richard Cotton appointed Interim CFO as permanent CFO search enters final stages

London, UK – 15 September 2026, hVIVO plc (AIM: HVO), a purpose-built, full-service international clinical development partner and the world leader in human challenge trials, today announces that Stephen Pinkerton, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has informed the Board of his intention to retire, following ten years with the Company.

Stephen will remain in post until 30 September 2026. Following his retirement, Richard Cotton, currently a Non-Executive Director, will serve as Interim CFO while the Company completes the appointment of a permanent successor. The Board is in the final stages of its process to select a new CFO and expects to make a further announcement in due course.

Richard is an experienced financial leader, having previously served as CFO of several listed life sciences companies, including FTSE 150 animal health company Dechra Pharmaceuticals plc, and medical device and drug formulation business Consort Medical plc. His extensive CFO experience, together with his existing knowledge of the Group, will ensure continuity of financial leadership during the transition.

Yamin 'Mo' Khan, Chief Executive Officer of hVIVO, said: “I would like to thank Stephen for his exceptional commitment and contribution to hVIVO over the past decade. During that time, he has played an important role in hVIVO's evolution, including supporting the acquisitions of CRS and Cryostore, strengthening the Group's financial foundations and helping position the business for its next phase of growth. On behalf of the Board and everyone at hVIVO, I thank him for his service and wish him every success for the future.”

Separately, the Company has today announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2026, which are available on the Company’s website www.hvivo.com.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR") EU no.596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. 

For further information please contact:

hVIVO plc		[phone]
Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan, Chief Executive Officer Susan Stuart, Head of IR and Corporate Communications
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)				[phone]
Geoff Nash, Callum Davidson, Nigel Birks
Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker)		[phone]
James Steel, Dr Christopher Golden
Davy (Joint Broker)		[phone]
Anthony Farrell, Niall Gilchrist
ICR Healthcare (Financial PR & IR) Mary-Jane Elliott / Stephanie Cuthbert / Phillip Marriage / Louis Ashe-Jepson			[e-mail]

Notes to Editors

About hVIVO

hVIVO plc (AIM: HVO) is a purpose-built, full-service international clinical development partner and the global leader in human challenge trials, serving seven of the world's ten largest biopharma companies.

The Company has an end-to-end platform designed to bring important medicines to patients faster: spanning preclinical strategy, first‑in‑human studies, Phase II patient trials and specialist laboratory services, delivered through a large participant database, wholly owned sites and laboratories across the UK and Germany.

With a combined Group heritage of more than 100 years, hVIVO delivers an accelerated pathway to clinical proof-of-concept through four integrated service lines: Consulting, Clinical Trials, Human Challenge Trials, and Laboratories.

• Consulting provides expert-led preclinical and clinical strategy, encompassing non-clinical, clinical, CMC, pharmacokinetics, data management, biostatistics, and regulatory support to guide trial design, execution, and interpretation.
• Clinical Trials offers Phase I/II CRO services, Phase II/III site services across the UK and Germany, and specialist recruitment through FluCamp, Europe's largest recruitment database.
• Human Challenge Trials leverages hVIVO’s state-of-the-art quarantine facility in London – the largest of its kind worldwide – to deliver fast, controlled, high-quality efficacy data through guaranteed viral exposure.
• Laboratories provides cutting-edge virology and immunology laboratory services, including biobanking and sample storage, supporting both challenge trials and standalone client studies.

 

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