(Alliance News) - Poolbeg Pharma PLC on Tuesday said that the US Patent & Trademarks Office has indicated that its patent application concerning the use of POLB 001 and its homologues for the treatment of hypercytokinemia is allowable.
Poolbeg is a London-based clinical-stage infectious disease pharmaceutical company. POLB 001 is a small molecule immunomodulator designed to treat severe influenza.
The company currently has a worldwide license for POLB 001 for all uses in humans, and is developing an intellectual property portfolio with patent protections in place to cover the use of mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitors for the treatment or prevention of influenza and hypercytokinemia.
US and European patents have already been granted for the treatment of severe influenza, and offer protection until at least 2037.
Poolbeg expects a formal patent grant in due course to use POLB 001 for the treatment of hypercytokinemia, and has filed a continuing application to protect additional claims around this indication.
Hypercytokinemia is a severe immune reaction where the body releases too many cytokines into the blood too quickly. A number of Covid-19 deaths have been linked to hyper-inflammation with features of cytokine storm syndrome.
Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Skillington said: "Enhanced IP protection of our assets across key markets, such as the US, increases the overall value of these products to potential partners. This is particularly important as we move closer to the completion of our POLB 001 LPS human challenge trial, with initial results expected by year end 2022."
Poolbeg shares were trading 3.9% higher at 4.63 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
By Holly Beveridge; hollybeveridge@alliancenews.com
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Poolbeg Pharma (POLB)