Poolbeg Pharma PLC (AIM:POLB) said it has in-licensed a potential immunotherapy for respiratory virus infections such as influenza and coronavirus from the University of Warwick.
The RNA-based drug works by triggering nasal cells into an antiviral state to protect from the infecting virus.
Simultaneously, it blocks the cells from making more virus by directly preventing replication.
Based on the research of professors Andrew Easton and Nigel Dimmock, the asset is at a late-pre-clinical development stage. It will join the Poolbeg pipeline as POLB 002.
Chief executive Jeremy Skillington said: "This dual-action immunotherapy developed by the team at University of Warwick is a really exciting technology in the field of respiratory virus disease treatments. The data shows it to rapidly reduce viral load and also prevent the likelihood of virus resistance.
"It will be an excellent addition to our growing pipeline of assets and we plan to move rapidly towards human proof-of-concept studies using our capital-light clinical model.
“We look forward to updating the market as POLB 002 progresses through the clinic with the ultimate aim of partnering it with Big Pharma."