Open Orphan plc announced an update in the world's first COVID-19 characterisation study. Following Research Ethics Committee approval on 17 February 2021, hVIVO, a subsidiary of Open Orphan, began the study at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust earlier this month. The first three volunteers have now successfully completed the quarantine phase of their study participation with no safety concerns presented and have been discharged from the unit. The study will now progress to the next group of volunteers. The first three volunteers will continue their study participation with follow up visits and monitoring for a period of up to one year. As is normal practice during any clinical trial, none of the partners in the study will be identifying any of the volunteers. The virus characterisation study will inoculate up to 90 volunteers, between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, to enable identification of the most appropriate dose of the virus needed to cause COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in a safe and controlled environment. The study is funded by the UK Government and Imperial College London is the clinical study sponsor. The study is conducted by hVIVO at the Royal Free Hospital, under the scrutiny of highly trained scientists and medics. The virus being used in the characterisation study has been produced under hVIVO's supervision by a team at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust in London, with support from virologists at Imperial College London.