Poolbeg Pharma (AIM:POLB) said a South Korean patent covering POLB 001 has been formally granted, protecting the drug and the broader use of any p38 MAP kinase inhibitor for preventing cancer immunotherapy-associated Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) in the country until 2044.
The Dublin-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is developing POLB 001 as a preventative treatment for CRS, a serious complication linked to a range of cancer immunotherapies.
The grant extends a patent estate that already includes protection in Europe, Canada and Australia, part of a push the company says is designed to make POLB 001 more attractive to prospective pharmaceutical partners.
Poolbeg has built out this IP position steadily since its initial UK filing in January 2023, moving through the PCT system a year later before securing grants in Australia, Canada and, more recently, an Israeli Notice of Allowance expected to proceed to formal grant.
"This latest patent grant for South Korea adds to our growing international cancer immunotherapy-associated CRS patent estate, enhancing POLB 001's attractiveness to prospective partners, and reflects the continued momentum we are generating across the programme," said Jeremy Skillington, chief executive of Poolbeg Pharma.
The patent news lands alongside Poolbeg's clinical progress on POLB 001, which is in the TOPICAL trial testing its ability to prevent CRS in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients receiving the bispecific antibody teclistamab, supplied free of charge by Johnson & Johnson.
The company reported in late September that 8 of the roughly 30 participants targeted had been dosed, with an interim readout still expected in late summer 2026.