Poolbeg Pharma PLC (AIM:POLB, OTC:POLBF, FRA:POLBF), the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has reached a significant milestone in its intellectual property strategy after Australia granted the first national patent in its programme targeting a serious side effect of cancer immunotherapy.
IP Australia, the Australian patent office, has granted protection covering the use of any p38 MAPK inhibitor.
This includes Poolbeg's lead compound POLB 001, for the prevention and treatment of cytokine release syndrome, a potentially life-threatening immune overreaction triggered in some patients receiving cancer immunotherapy treatments.
The grant is the first within Poolbeg's cancer immunotherapy-induced CRS patent family, which originated from a UK filing in January 2023 and a subsequent international Patent Cooperation Treaty application in January 2024.
To accelerate the process, Poolbeg used the Patent Prosecution Highway, an international framework that allows expedited examination in participating countries following a favourable review elsewhere.
The company said the grant strengthens the commercial appeal of POLB 001 to potential licensing or development partners and that it intends to progress corresponding applications in further jurisdictions.
The timing coincides with Poolbeg's TOPICAL trial, which is investigating POLB 001 as a preventative treatment for CRS in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma receiving the bispecific antibody teclistamab, with interim data expected in summer 2026.
Chief executive Jeremy Skillington said the patent grant "could not be better timed" given the TOPICAL trial's progress, adding that protection in this indication is a key component of the company's broader strategy for POLB 001.