Poolbeg Pharma(POLB) , a clinical stage infectious disease company, announced it has been granted a US patent for the use of its small molecule immunomodulator, POLB 001, and related p38 MAP kinase inhibitors for the treatment of hypercytokinaemia.
Hypercytokinaemia occurs due to viral infection such as an influenza virus, cancer or an autoimmune response, and is treated by using of POLB 001 and related p38 MAP kinase inhibitors to reduce the body's hyperinflammatory response.
The company highlighted that the patent grant allows for use of POLB 001 in combination with an antiviral agent while also enhancing the robust IP portfolio protecting Poolbeg's growing pipeline.
Poolbeg has a worldwide license for POLB 001 for all uses in humans, and is developing a strong IP portfolio with US patent protection in place covering the use of a wide range of p38 MAP kinase inhibitors for the treatment of symptoms of severe influenza and hypercytokinaemia, alongside a European patent for the class of p38 MAP kinase inhibitors for use in the treatment of severe influenza.
In January 2022, the company filed a patent application to seek class protection for the novel use of p38 inhibitors in CAR T cell treatment for some cancers. This opens up a significant new market opportunity for POLB 001 beyond severe influenza. Poolbeg continues to explore opportunities to expand its IP around this asset to cover new disease areas which could enhance the value of the asset. Poolbeg continues to work with its patent advisors to broaden and expand its patent families.
Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma, said: "We are expanding our IP portfolio across the globe, allowing us to continue advancing and protecting our programmes for the treatment or prevention of severe influenza and hypercytokinaemia. Enhanced IP protection of our assets across key markets, such as the US, increases the overall value and attractiveness of these products to potential partners. This is particularly important in the light of the recent favourable results from our POLB 001 LPS human challenge trial announced 2 March 2023."
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The news from Poolbeg Pharma today demonstrates that their market-first inflammation reducer will now have enhanced IP protection in the US, following the grant from the Patent & Trademark Office. This announcement is particularly significant given the news announced last week, showing that their LPS human challenge trial has indicated that POLB 001 significantly reduces inflammation both locally and systematically.
POLB 001’s value lies in its broad application to treat inflammatory diseases, but most significantly serves the unmet need for severe influenza treatments, as no other effective treatment currently exists for patients with severe influenza that are past the anti-viral stage.
As such, the global addressable market for POLB 001 is huge, with 1 billion global estimated cases, along with a 1 in 8 global infection rate. On top of this, severe influenza cases can cause life-changing injuries, when an immune response known as hypercytokinaemia occurs, potentially leading to lung damage which can have further harmful effects on other organs in the body. This highlights the need for effective treatments, such as POLB 001, to treat patients with severe influenza. To date, other treatments available on the market, such as steroids, target a single immune pathway while POLB selectively inhibits inflammatory responses.
Finally, Poolbeg has stated that they will continue to explore opportunities to expand its IP around POLB 001 to cover new disease areas which could further strengthen the value of the asset. To keep up to date with a regular stream of exciting news updates from this company , make sure the follow Poolbeg Pharma