Ireland’s Poolbeg Pharma is to act as lead business partner in a UK drug trial alongside partners including J&J for a University of Manchester and Christie NHS Foundation Trust research programme supported by a £3.4m (€3.9m) science grant.
J&J will provide its multi-million euro bispecific antibody drug, free of charge, for the upcoming “POLB 001” clinical trial which is being run out of The Christie hospital in Manchester, a leading specialist cancer centre.
Dublin-headquartered Poolbeg Pharma is listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market, and was co-founded by serial entrepreneur Cathal Friel.
The patient trial for the POLB 001 is designed to prevent the occurrence of Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) in patients receiving cancer immunotherapies.
Typically, more than 70pc of patients undergoing treatment with certain types of antibodies or other specific therapies are affected by CRS, meaning after receiving a treatment, they must remain in a hospital or cancer clinic for two to three additional weeks so they can be monitored.
If POLB 001 is ultimately successful in preventing CRS, such patients will no longer be at risk from the syndrome.
It will mean they can return home earlier after receiving cancer treatments and freeing up specialist beds and benefiting overall patient care.
The clinical trial in Manchester reflects recognition that the failure to manage CRS and other serious adverse effects is creating a significant bottleneck to the availability and uptake of cancer immunotherapies.
The scheme is supported by a £3.4m Prosperity Partnership grant from the UK Medical Research Council.
The programme, titled Rise (Reducing Immune Stress from Excess cytokine release in advanced therapies), will facilitate wider research into cancer immunotherapy-induced CRS and the safer delivery of these treatments.
The POLB 001 TOPICAL trial is part of that work. J&J will provide the approved bispecific antibody, teclistamab.
Poolbeg Pharma itself has raised gross proceeds of almost £5m (€5.7m) this year, giving it sufficient cash to fund operations until 2027, by which time it will have accumulated a significant amount of additional data on its product pipeline.
The business is one five that Irish financier and serial entrepreneur Mr Friel has taken through initial public offerings on London’s Alternative Investment Market since 2012, including Amryt Pharma and Hvivo.
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