Poolbeg Pharma plc (LON:POLB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs, has announced that, further to the announcement made earlier today regarding the Fundraising, it has conditionally raised gross proceeds of £4.715 million, comprising £3.370 million through a placing of 134,800,000 new ordinary shares of 0.02 pence each in the capital of the Company, with the Placing upsized due to strong investor demand, and £1.345 million through the direct subscription of 53,800,000 new Ordinary Shares, each priced at 2.5 pence per new Ordinary Share.
Key Highlights of the Placing
· Conditionally raised £4.715 million as part of a significantly oversubscribed Placing, which was increased in size due to strong investor demand, and Subscription comprising of:
o Placing of 134.8 million new ordinary shares, raising gross proceeds of £3.370 million at the issue price
o Subscription of 53.8 million new Ordinary Shares, raising gross proceeds of £1.345 million at the Issue Price
BookBuild Offer remains open until 4:30pm on 22 May 2025, with the potential to raise up to an additional £100,000.
· Use of net proceeds from the Fundraising:
o Phase 2a clinical trial for POLB 001, aiming to prevent cytokine release syndrome (CRS) induced by cancer immunotherapy.
o Oral GLP-1 proof-of-concept clinical trial
o Cash runway extended to 2027
As detailed in the Launch Announcement earlier today, Poolbeg Pharma also launched the BookBuild Offer through the Bookbuild Platform to raise gross proceeds of up to £100,000. The BookBuild Offer provides existing retail Shareholders in the United Kingdom with an opportunity to participate in the Fundraising at the same price as the Placing. The Retail Offer is expected to remain open until 4:30 p.m. on 22 May 2025, and the results of the BookBuild Offer are expected to be announced on 23 May 2025.
The Company will use the net proceeds of the Fundraising to achieve the following significant expected value inflection points while, alongside the Company’s existing resources, ensuring a financial runway into 2027:
· POLB 001’s Phase 2a trial: The first patient is expected to be dosed in H2 2025, and topline data from Phase 2a is anticipated in H2 2026, including interim analysis in H1 2026. POLB 001 is a potentially groundbreaking, orally delivered p38 MAPK inhibitor designed to prevent cytokine release syndrome (“CRS”) induced by cancer immunotherapy, a severe and potentially life-threatening side effect of cancer treatments. Poolbeg’s decision to expand into oncology with POLB 001 has opened up a substantial market opportunity projected to exceed US$10 billion, as affirmed by independent research commissioned by Poolbeg. There are strong indications from major pharmaceutical companies to provide the necessary bispecific antibody free of charge to support the Phase 2a trial, which represents significant validation of industry interest in POLB 001 and its potential. The Company sees opportunities for partnerships based on positive data from this trial.
· Oral GLP-1 proof of concept trial: The trial is expected to commence in the coming months, with topline proof of concept data anticipated in H1 2026. The oral GLP-1 programme employs a proprietary encapsulation technology to potentially provide an effective oral GLP-1 alternative for the expanding obesity market and to address the challenges associated with the oral delivery of peptide-based biologics. The Company believes that positive results from the trial may facilitate partnerships and various opportunities for value creation.
Commenting on the Fundraising, Jeremy Skillington PhD, Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is a tremendous endorsement for the Company and the potential of both our POLB 001 and Oral GLP-1 programmes that investors have supported us so robustly, despite very challenging conditions in the biopharma financing market. We are grateful for their support and look forward to putting their investment to work in the clinic and moving these programmes forward through upcoming critical value inflection points.”
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited acted as the sole bookrunner in connection with the placing.
Capitalised terms not defined in this announcement have the meanings assigned to them in the Launch Announcement.
Details of the Placing and Notice of General Meeting
The Placing is conditional upon, among other things, the passing of the Resolutions and the Placing Agreement between the Company, Shore Capital, and Cavendish Capital Markets not having been terminated in accordance with its terms.
A circular (the “Circular”), containing details of the Placing and convening a general meeting of the Company proposed to be held at the offices of DAC Beachcroft LLP at The Walbrook Building, 25 Walbrook, London, England, EC4N 8AF, UK at 2.00 p.m. on 23 June 2025 (the “General Meeting”) in order to pass the Resolutions, is expected to be posted to Shareholders on 27 May 2025. The Circular, once published, will be available on the Company’s website at www.poolbegpharma.com and the Company will make a further announcement confirming that the Circular has been published.
Director participation in the Placing
Cathal Friel, Executive Chair of the Company, who is a related party for the purposes of the AIM Rules, participated in the Placing by subscribing for 4,000,000 new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price with an investment of £100,000 (the “Participation”). The Company’s directors (excluding Cathal Friel and Ian O’Connell), having consulted with the Company’s nominated adviser Cavendish, consider the terms of the Participation to be fair and reasonable insofar as the Company’s shareholders are concerned. Although Cavendish has agreed that Mr O’Connell does not have a personal interest in the Participation, to avoid any perception of a conflict Mr O’Connell nevertheless recused himself given his previous employment relationship with Raglan Capital.
Admission, settlement and dealings
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (“Admission”).
Admission is expected to take place at 8.00 a.m. on 25 June 2025 and dealings in the New Ordinary Shares are expected to commence at 8.00 a.m. on 25 June 2025 or, in each case, such later time and/or date as Shore Capital and Poolbeg Pharma agree (being in any event no later than 8.00 a.m. on 23 July 2025).
The New Ordinary Shares, when issued, will be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the Existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after the date of issue.
