Biopharma company Poolbeg Pharma (POLB) saw its shares jump after it said that it had received the fully granted patent from the US Patent Office for its Immunomodulator II patent application, following a Notice of Allowance on the 20th March 2024.
The patent relates to the use of Poolbeg’s lead drug, POLB 001 - a potent and selective Phase II-ready p38 MAP kinase inhibitor – for treating cytokine storm, or hypercytokinaemia, and preventing cytokine storm when immune responses have been triggered.
The patent grant marks another significant step for POLB 001, which has shown strong potential across multiple disease areas. In November, Poolbeg was granted a similar patent for Immunomodulator II in Japan.
CEO Jeremy Skillington commented: "We believe POLB 001 holds immense promise in addressing unmet medical needs in cancer immunotherapy-induced cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and severe influenza, positively impacting patients and healthcare systems alike. Its impressive data package and strong patent portfolio, coupled with the promising >US$10 billion market opportunity in cancer immunotherapy-induced CRS alone, strengthens our confidence in its potential to positively impact global health and generate value for our shareholders."
View from Vox
This US patent grant represents a significant milestone for Poolbeg as it continues to build its IP portfolio. The company has a global license for POLB 001 and is actively building a comprehensive portfolio with patents in place, including Immunomodulator I and II, covering the use of the class of p38 MAP inhibitors for the treatment of severe influenza, and the use of POLB 001 for the treatment of hypercytokinaemia.
Today's announcement further highlights the progress Poolbeg has made in developing its patent portfolio, enhancing the value and attractiveness of its lead asset POLB 001 to potential pharma partners, particularly in respect of cancer immunotherapies.
POLB 001 has strong potential in making cancer immunotherapies more accessible by enabling their safer and broader use in an outpatient setting. The candidate has a compelling data package and targets unmet medical needs across several disease areas. POLB 001's potential to treat cancer immunotherapy-induced Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) alone has a market potential of US$10bn.
Today’s news follows this week’s FY23 results announcement, which showed the innovative biopharma company making huge strides progressing its expanding portfolio, opening up new markets, and strengthening its management team - all whilst retaining its strong balance sheet thanks to disciplined capital allocation, ending the year with net cash of $12.2m.