Open Orphan plc announced contract to supply consultancy services to support a Phase II trial in Onchocerciasis Disease, an infectious disease commonly known as river blindness. Venn Life Sciences ("Venn"), a subsidiary of Open Orphan, will provide Data Management & Biostatistics services to support the Phase II trial of an antibiotic drug candidate for Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative ("DNDi"), a not-for-profit research organization developing new affordable and patient-friendly treatments for neglected patients around the world. The Venn team in the Paris office will provide support for the trial, taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to evaluate the product ABBV-4083, owned by AbbVie and licensed to DNDi, as a potential antibiotic treatment for patients with Onchocerciasis, the second-most common cause of blindness due to infection, after trachoma. ABBV-4083 was identified by a screening of anti-infective compounds led by the pharmaceutical company AbbVie and the anti-Wolbachia consortium A-WOL at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. The study has already commenced.