Poolbeg Pharma (AIM: POLB, ‘Poolbeg’ or the ‘Company’), a clinical stage infectious disease pharmaceutical company with a capital light clinical model, has in-licenced a novel, first-in-class RNA-based immunotherapy for respiratory virus infections developed at the University of Warwick
Poolbeg has secured an exclusive licence to this dual antiviral prophylactic and therapeutic candidate, which is at a late-pre-clinical development stage. In vivo data confirms that this immunotherapy asset targets pan-respiratory virus infections, which could include influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), SARS-CoV-2 and others.
The candidate, which will be developed by Poolbeg as POLB 002, was developed at the University of Warwick and derived from twenty years of research with world class virologists, Professor Andrew Easton and Professor Nigel Dimmock.
Administered intra-nasally, this RNA-based immunotherapy 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 its replication. Both modes of action combined can reduce infectious viral loads and improve disease symptoms. As a nasally administered and rapidly effective prophylactic antiviral candidate, it could potentially provide an effective solution for protecting at risk patient populations (e.g. the elderly, COPD patients, and asthmatics).
Respiratory virus infections are considered a top five global killer resulting in more than three million annual deaths worldwide. There is a significant unmet need for improved respiratory virus infection therapies and the current available treatments, vaccines and antiviral drugs, are typically pathogen specific. Consequently, 85% of illnesses caused by non-influenza viruses cannot be adequately treated and the emergence of resistance is also a major concern.
