Poolbeg Pharma expands treatment into new markets

Company signs strategic collaboration agreement with a Nasdaq-listed biopharma company

Jeremy Skillington, chief executive at Poolbeg Pharma: 'Poolbeg has the expertise to succeed in our strategy of developing, partnering and commercialising innovative medicines.' Photograph: Jason Clarke

Poolbeg Pharma said it had made progress last year in expanding its treatments into new markets, with significant pipeline advancements and strategic deals.

The company said it had made a strategic expansion into the treatment of cancer immunotherapy-induced Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS), which is a market that could be worth more than $10 billion (€9.4 billion).

The results for the year ended December 31st, 2023, showed the company had a cash balance of £12.2 million (€14.04 million).

The company reported positive results from a human challenge trial for POLB 001 LPS, and the strategic expansion of POLB 001 as a preventive therapy for cancer immunotherapy-induced CRS.

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An AI-led programme identified multiple novel influenza drug targets, and the company also had positive outputs from the lab-based analysis and successful prioritisation of Respiratory Syncytial Virus treatment candidates.

Poolbeg has also signed a strategic collaboration agreement with a Nasdaq-listed biopharma company for the development of an oral drug to treat a metabolic condition

“We made excellent progress and hit multiple key milestones in 2023, the most important of all perhaps was filing patent applications which will give us international protection over the use of POLB 001 as a preventive therapy for cancer immunotherapy-induced CRS, in addition to the existing severe influenza indication,” said Jeremy Skillington, chief executive of Poolbeg Pharma.

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“Our disciplined approach to capital allocation has ensured that we have maintained a robust cash position. We remain focused and are getting good engagement on partnering to maximise the value of our in-house programmes. Poolbeg has the expertise to succeed in our strategy of developing, partnering and commercialising innovative medicines to generate near-term revenues with a goal to achieve sustainable profitability.”

The period saw Prof Brendan Buckley appointed as non-executive director, along with the recruitment of a number of former executives of Amryt Pharma to the management team of Poolbeg.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist