Poolbeg to Trial Drug Blocking Cancer Therapy Side
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- Poolbeg Pharma is trialing oral drug POLB 001 at six NHS hospitals to prevent cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a potentially fatal immune overreaction affecting roughly 70% of patients on cancer immunotherapies from J&J, Gilead, Novartis and AstraZeneca.
- The trial will enroll 30 patients receiving Johnson & Johnson's blood cancer drug teclistamab (Tecvayli), and is led by the University of Manchester and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, with interim data expected by end of summer.
- CEO Jeremy Skillington said patients will start taking POLB 001 at home before cancer treatment to keep the immune system in check, contrasting with the current requirement of two-to-three-week hospital stays at dedicated cancer centers.
- Poolbeg estimates roughly 500,000 people in the US and Europe's five biggest markets will receive blood cancer immunotherapy by 2031, and values the potential market for POLB 001 at around $10bn at a $20,000 (£15,000) per-treatment price.
- POLB 001 was acquired from Spain's Palau Pharma, where it was originally developed for chronic inflammation, and works by blocking a specific cell signalling pathway.
- Poolbeg also disclosed a separate early-stage trial of a GLP-1 weight loss pill with Ireland's AnaBio Technologies, to be led by Ulster University's Prof Carel Le Roux in 20 volunteers with a BMI above 30.
Why it matters: If POLB 001 works, it removes a key bottleneck limiting where expensive immunotherapies can be administered: roughly 70% of treated patients develop CRS and must currently be supervised at specialist cancer centers, often forcing rural patients to travel. Skillington pegs the addressable market at $10bn against immunotherapies that already cost $300,000–$400,000 per course, giving health systems a direct financial case for adopting a preventive pill.
