Shore Capital Markets has flagged the dosing of the first patient in Poolbeg Pharma's (AIM:POLB) TOPICAL trial as an important clinical milestone for the Dublin-based, AIM-listed biopharmaceutical developer.
The broker, in a note, said POLB 001, Poolbeg's oral p38 MAPK inhibitor, could become the first oral therapy for both prevention and treatment of cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a complication that limits wider use of cancer immunotherapies by tying up hospital beds.
Shore Capital's note points to additional trial sites expected to open shortly, supporting recruitment and keeping the study on course for interim data in late summer. It also added that a successful readout could broaden use of cancer immunotherapies by allowing treatment in community hospital settings rather than requiring inpatient monitoring.
The broker expects CRS-related demand for POLB 001 to grow as cancer immunotherapies move into earlier treatment lines and larger patient populations, and says the TOPICAL data should draw broad interest from companies developing those therapies.
