Poolbeg Pharma moves closer to granting of patent for POLB 001 to treat multiple diseases

UK biopharmaceutical company Poolbeg Pharma (AIM: POLB) has received a notice of allowance from the US Patent Office in relation to an application for its lead candidate POLB 001 in the treatment of multiple diseases.

The notice covers a class of drugs (including POLB 001) for treating hypercytokinaemia (cytokine storm) and for preventing its development in patients after an immune response has been triggered.

It is considered to be a precursor to the formal granting of a patent.

POLB 001 is an orally-administered MAP kinase inhibitor (mitogen-activated protein kinase) designed to target the cytokine release syndrome (CRS) associated with many cancer immunotherapy treatments.

The syndrome impacts more than 70% of patients undergoing CAR-T or bispecific antibody therapy, with severe symptoms often requiring intensive support care.

POLB 001 aims to enable broader and safer delivery of these therapies to cancer patients.

Significant step

Poolbeg chief executive officer Jeremy Skillington said the notice of allowance was a significant step in the right direction.

“This further strengthens our robust intellectual property for POLB 001 therapy and enhances its value for potential partners,” he said.

“POLB 001 has the potential to make breakthrough cancer immunotherapies more accessible to the patients who need them by enabling safer and broader use of these treatments in an outpatient setting… we are excited by its potential to positively impact global health.”

The global cancer immunotherapy market is expected to reach $140 billion by 2030.

Mr Skillington said it presents the company with an opportunity in excess of $10 billion if POLB 001 is successful.

Who is Poolbeg Pharma?

Poolbeg Pharma specialises in the development of innovative medicines to address critical unmet medical needs.

This includes cancer immunotherapy-induced CRS, infectious diseases and metabolic conditions such as obesity with the development of an oral GLP-1R agonist.

The company is also placing a growing emphasis on rare and orphan diseases.

Poolbeg is focused on commercialising approved and marketed drugs to fund the development of future ground-breaking products in the immunotherapy space.