Poolbeg Pharma PLC on Wednesday noted ‘promising’ results for POLB 001’s potential in treating cancer immunotherapy-induced cytokine release syndrome.

Poolbeg is a London-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company targeting diseases with a high unmet medical need.

POLB 001 is a bacterial lipopolysaccharide treatment being developed to ‘address the significant unmet medical need for severe influenza.’

A recent LPS human challenge trial, which evaluated the effect of POLB 001 on inflammatory responses in 36 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 55, showed that the treatment was well tolerated, with no serious adverse effects or volunteer withdrawals.

The results, together with data from the recent challenge trial, support Poolbeg’s ‘strategic expansion of the Phase II ready POLB 001 to treat and prevent cancer immunotherapy-induced CRS,’ it said. The data also strengthens and facilitates the expansion of patent applications for POLB 001.

According to the American Cancer Society, there will be approximately 24.6 million cases of cancer by 2030. Poolbeg said the cancer immunotherapy market is estimated at around $1 billion.

Poolbeg Chief Business Officer David Allmond said: ‘POLB 001 has the potential to revolutionise the impact of cancer immunotherapies by enabling safer and broader use in an outpatient setting, reducing healthcare resource utilisation and making these next generation cancer treatments more widely available to the patients that need them. The pharmaceutical sector is seeking an effective solution for CRS and, as an oral therapy, we believe there is a significant opportunity for POLB 001 to meet this critical unmet medical need and have a positive impact on global health.’

Shares in Poolbeg were up 3.3% at 9.04 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.

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