Poolbeg Pharma (POLB) , a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on infectious diseases, has said that a third party has agreed to withdraw its opposition to one of the company’s European patents, the Immunomodulator I.
The outcome comes without any financial compensation between the parties.
The Immunomodulator I European patent was opposed by a third party in September 2021, but further to engaging with the opposing party, Poolbeg has reached an amicable conclusion. The third party has agreed to not challenge any of Poolbeg's Immunomodulator I or Immunomodulator II patents in the future.
Poolbeg holds a worldwide license for POLB 001 in human use and has a growing patent portfolio, including Immunomodulator I and II. These patents cover the use of p38 MAP kinase inhibitors for treating severe influenza and hypercytokinaemia.
The company is also filing patents to expand POLB 001's use in new areas like oncology, making it more appealing to potential pharma partners.
Jeremy Skillington, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Poolbeg Pharma, said: "The favourable resolution of the opposition filed against our Immunomodulator I European patent is an important outcome for us. We have full confidence in the strength and validity of our patent portfolio and look forward to continuing to expand our intellectual property and protecting our pipeline of assets. We remain committed to addressing global unmet medical needs by driving innovation in healthcare."
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Good news from Poolbeg, ensuring the protection of its patents and its ongoing efforts to expand its intellectual property portfolio.
POLB 001, its lead asset, has been hitting key milestones across 2023, including positive results from its LPS human challenge trial in March. The results support the notion that POLB 001 can be used to treat severe influenza, alongside Cytokine Release Syndrome and other inflammatory conditions. 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.
The global addressable market for POLB 001 is huge, with 1 billion global estimated cases, along with a 1 in 8 global infection rate. Other key milestones achieved for Poolbeg’s lead asset include POLB 001’s expansion into oncology, further strengthening its value. Poolbeg is currently in discussions with potential oncology partners for POLB 001, with an agreement likely to be signed in 2023 or 2024.
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