Poolbeg Pharma Plc (LON:POLB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focussed on the development of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs, has announced its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2024.
2024 Highlights
| • | Cash balance of £7.8 million as at 31 December 2024, reflecting disciplined capital allocation to drive pipeline advancements |
| • | Cathal Friel appointed as Executive Chair to drive performance and seek to replicate the success of other companies he co-founded, including hVIVO plc and Amryt Pharma plc |
| • | POLB 001’s potential to improve patient access to cancer immunotherapies validated by an independent committee of international key opinion leaders |
| • | Independent research confirmed a potential market opportunity of more than US$10 billion for POLB 001 as an oral preventative therapy for cancer immunotherapy-induced Cytokine Release Syndrome (“CRS”) |
| • | Positive preclinical data demonstrated statistically significant cytokine inhibition of POLB 001 and a dose dependent reduction in clinical CRS score – facilitating the expansion of patent applications and supporting its development in a Phase 2 clinical trial |
| • | The preclinical data was also presented at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition and garnered interest from industry leaders and potential partners |
| • | The US Patent Office granted the Immunomodulator II patent application covering a class of drugs, including POLB 001, to treat or prevent hypercytokinemia (cytokine storm) induced in any disease indication |
| • | Amid sustained global interest in glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, the Company progressed towards commencement of a proof of concept trial for its oral GLP-1 programme in the coming months |
| • | Poolbeg’s artificial intelligence (“AI”) led drug discovery programmes have successfully identified potential drug targets and treatments – discussions with potential partners are ongoing |
Jeremy Skillington, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Poolbeg Pharma, commented: “2024 was marked by a growing understanding of the potential impact of POLB 001 as an oral preventative therapy for cancer immunotherapy-induced Cytokine Release Syndrome. Not only is there a potential market opportunity of more than US$10 billion, but we believe POLB 001 could greatly enhance the uptake of cancer immunotherapy treatments by preventing CRS. We are pleased to have seen such interest and engagement in our programmes from prospective partners in 2024 and into 2025.
“Our existing cash balance of £6.2 million as at the end of March 2025*, alongside a proposed fundraising of approximately £4.1 million that will shortly be announced, will support our anticipated POLB 001 Phase 2a trial and the proof of concept trial for our oral GLP-1 programme, both of which represent major potential value inflection points for the Company.”
* Unaudited management accounts as at 31 March 2025
