Poolbeg Pharma (AIM:POLB) has raised £3.5 million through a placing, with executive chair Cathal Friel subscribing £250,000 of the total.
The AIM-listed, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is developing POLB 001, aimed at preventing cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a severe side effect of cancer immunotherapies, alongside an oral obesity treatment.
The net proceeds will fund the POLB 001 TOPICAL trial and the Oral GLP-1 proof-of-concept trial through to completion, while strengthening the company's position in ongoing partnering discussions.
Combined with existing resources, the placing is expected to extend Poolbeg's cash runway into the second quarter of 2028.
The company held cash balances of approximately £4.8 million as of 30 June and remains debt-free.
Poolbeg dosed the first patient in its TOPICAL trial on 13 July, with interim data expected in late summer. Johnson & Johnson is supplying the bispecific antibody teclistamab free of charge for the trial, which the directors regard as validation of industry interest in POLB 001.
The trial, led by Dr Emma Searle at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, is recruiting relapsed, refractory multiple myeloma patients across sites including University College London Hospitals, with Royal Marsden, University Hospitals Birmingham, NHS Lothian and Royal Stoke expected to follow.
Meanwhile, the GLP-1 proof-of-concept trial, involving up to 20 obese patients at the University of Ulster, is planned to begin in the second half of 2026.
