Appointment of Non-Executive Director

hVIVO PLC

18 December 2025

 

hVIVO plc

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

hVIVO strengthens Board with appointment of Richard Cotton as

Non-Executive Director

Seasoned life sciences executive with extensive Board and financial expertise

hVIVO plc (AIM: HVO), a full-service early phase Contract Research Organisation (CRO) and the world leader in human challenge clinical trials, announces the appointment of Richard Cotton as Independent Non-Executive Director, effective today. Richard will also serve as Chair of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Remuneration and Nominations Committees.

Richard brings extensive Board-level and financial expertise, including experience serving as Chair, Audit Chair and Senior Independent Director, as well as holding advisory and senior financial leadership roles across the life sciences and other sectors.

Richard currently serves as Audit Chair and Lead Independent Director at Nasdaq-listed AI predictive diagnostics company Spectral AI and is Senior Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair at AIM-listed topical oxygen wound therapy company AOTI. He is also Financial Adviser at Novumgen, a privately owned Specialty Pharmaceuticals company, and NED at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

His prior executive roles include highly successful tenures as CFO at FTSE150 animal health company Dechra Pharmaceuticals plc, and as CFO at medical device and drug formulation business Consort Medical plc. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Mr Cotton holds a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Kingston University.

Shaun Chilton, Non-Executive Chair of hVIVO plc, said: "We welcome Richard to the Board of hVIVO. His extensive financial, operational and governance expertise, combined with his life sciences experience will significantly enhance the Board's capabilities as we focus on the strategic opportunities open to the Company and delivering long-term shareholder value."

Richard Cotton, Incoming Non-Executive Director of hVIVO plc, said: "I am excited to be able to contribute my experience and expertise to support hVIVO's growth. The Company is at an exciting phase with the foundation of a global leading position in human challenge trials with an increasingly diversified service offering, a robust pipeline and strong fundamentals. I look forward to working closely with the Board and leadership team."

Additional Information on the Board Appointment

The following additional information is provided with regards to the appointment of Richard John Cotton, aged 64, in accordance with Rule 17 and Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Current directorships/partnerships:	Former directorships/partnerships (within the last five years):
Aoti, Inc	Spectral MD Holdings Ltd
Sherwood Forest NHS Foundation Trust
Spectral AI Inc
Spectral IP Inc
Spectral MD UK Limited

On 24 June 2005, Mr Cotton was appointed as director of Wagon Services Limited and subsequently resigned as a director on 31 October 2008. Wagon Services Limited entered administration on 8 December 2008 as a result of a downturn in trading caused by the global economic conditions at that time and was subsequently dissolved on 28 February 2010.

Mr Cotton was a director of a number of former dormant subsidiaries of McLeod Russel plc which were liquidated as part of a corporate reorganisation following its acquisition by SPX Corp. The companies were dissolved by creditors voluntary liquidation on the dates shown below:

Company Name	Date dissolved
Air Filter Products Ltd	14 September 2005
Beck & Frost Ltd	14 September 2005
Buchanan's Warehouse Ltd	09 November 2005
CRC Air Filters Ltd	09 November 2005
Granyte Paints Ltd	04 November 2005
Hedgeferry Ltd	09 November 2005
Ideas Telecom Ltd	09 November 2005
Hole Holdings Ltd	30 December 2007
Irwell Leasing Ltd	13 September 2005
Jeffes Engineering Ltd	13 September 2005
Joseph Mason Paints Ltd	09 November 2005
Joseph Mason Paints (Scotland) Ltd	10 September 2005
Kennedy Industrial Textiles (1990) Ltd	10 September 2005
Kennedy Smale PLC	08 November 2005
Perfection Products Ltd	08 November 2005
R&M Knotting Machinery Ltd	09 November 2005
Seasafe Ltd	13 September 2005
Seldon (Air Conditioning) Ltd	15 September 2005
Warren PS Ltd	14 November 2005
Wheway Becker Ltd	13 September 2005
Wheway Distribution Ltd	15 September 2005
Wheway Network Systems Ltd	14 September 2005
Wheway (Old Hill) Ltd	15 September 2005
Airflow Construction Ltd	30 December 2007
Blackwall Warehousing Ltd	09 January 2008
Coroless International Ltd	09 January 2008
Filter Supply and Manufacturing Company Ltd	09 January 2008
Granyte Surface Coating (Southern) Ltd	09 January 2008
H Sharp & Son Ltd	30 December 2007
Joseph Mason Ltd	09 January 2008
Joseph Shakespeare & Co Ltd	30 December 2007
NESW2 Ltd	30 December 2007
NESW3 Ltd	30 December 2007
NESW6 Ltd	30 December 2007
NESW1 Ltd	30 December 2007
NESW5 Ltd	30 December 2007
Heat, Insulation & Ventilation Co. Ltd	09 January 2008
Methworth Ltd	30 December 2007
WPH Papua New Guinea Plantations Ltd	09 January 2008
Premium Coatings Ltd	09 January 2008
Seldon Refrigeration Ltd	09 January 2008
Wheway Corporate Services Ltd	09 January 2008
Wheway Secretarial Services Ltd	09 January 2008
Wilson Filters Ltd	09 January 2008

Mr Cotton does not hold any shares or options in the Company.

There are no further disclosures required under Rule 17 and Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

For further information please contact:

hVIVO plc		[phone]
Yamin 'Mo' Khan, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Pinkerton, Chief Financial Officer
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)				[phone]
Geoff Nash, Callum Davidson Trisyia Jamaludin, Harriet Ward Nigel Birks - Life Science Specialist Sales Louise Talbot - Sales
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

hVIVO plc (Ticker: HVO) is full-service Contract Research Organisation (CRO) and the global leader in human challenge trials. The company delivers end-to-end clinical development services to a diverse and expanding client base, including seven of the world's ten largest biopharma companies.

hVIVO specialises in conducting human challenge trials across multiple infectious and respiratory indications, leveraging its state-of-the-art quarantine facility in London-the largest of its kind worldwide. The company also offers comprehensive virology and immunology laboratory services under the hLAB brand.

Through its German subsidiary, CRS, hVIVO operates a 120-bed capacity across Mannheim and Kiel, providing early-phase clinical trial services, including first-in-human and proof-of-concept studies. Its second subsidiary, Venn Life Sciences, offers Early Drug Development Consulting and Biometry services to the biopharma sector.

The Group provides fully integrated drug development solutions from preclinical stages through Phase II trials, alongside patient recruitment via FluCamp. Additionally, its five clinical sites support outpatient Phase II and III trials, ensuring a seamless and efficient pathway from discovery to late-stage development.

 

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