Pharma firm striving for a world with no infectious disease

Plan to use extensive network to become a ‘one-stop shop’ for big pharma

Jeremy Skillington, CEO at Poolbeg Pharma. Picture: Jason Clarke

It has been a steady few weeks for Poolbeg Pharma, after a successful trading launch on the Alternative Investment Market, London Stock Exchange’s space for small- and medium-size growth companies.

Having been spun out from Open Orphan, the new company raised £25m (€29m) in its initial public offer, increased through investor demand from an original target of £20m (€23.4m).

The clinical-stage infectious disease company plans to use the funds from the placing for clinical trial costs associated with development of a drug to treat severe influenza and, potentially, other areas, as well as for work on advancing other portfolio assets to monetisation. 

“The IPO and funds raised have provided a strong platform to begin our rapid growth plan,” chief executive Jeremy Skillington said.

“With experienced management on board and the exciting assets acquired from Open Orphan, we look forward to delivering value to our shareholder base and generating innovation in the previously overlooked infectious-disease space, which is now one of the fastest-growing markets and is expected to exceed €210bn by 2025.”

Poolbeg Pharma intends to drive business development through product in-licensing and acquisitions, which will provide continued momentum and value creation for shareholders.

'One-stop-shop'

“At the core of our business, we are patient-focused and customer-led and plan to use our extensive network to become a ‘one-stop shop’ for big pharma, developing and partnering the infectious disease assets that they need,” Mr Skillington said.

Among its assets is a first-in-class, phase II-ready, small molecule immuno-modulator for severe influenza, addressing a significant unmet need for effective treatments in a market worth an estimated €680m.

The group’s portfolio also includes its PredictViral Biomarker platform for early prediction of severe disease, in addition to the Vaccine Discovery Platform, which uses human challenge model data. 

With access to knowledge and clinical data from over 20 years of influenza, RSV, HRV, and SARS-CoV-2 human challenge trials, Poolbeg is using these insights to acquire new assets, as well as reposition clinical stage products, reducing spend and risk.

A capital light and scalable business model enables the company to develop assets to be phase II-ready quickly with modest investment, where they can be monetised and/or licensed to major pharmaceutical companies.

Intent on creating returns and value for its shareholders with substantially less risk than the traditional biotech model, Poolbeg Pharma has assembled a leading management team with the tools and experience to deliver on its prospects. 

“At the heart of Poolbeg is the desire to improve infectious disease treatments for patients and provide valuable assets big pharma needs to improve patient care. It’s a win-win,” Mr Skillington said.

Impact of Covid

The Covid-19 pandemic has placed infectious diseases in the public sphere, resulting in governments and international organisations now investing heavily to ensure they are better prepared.

“Poolbeg Pharma is aiming to carve out a leading position in this rapidly evolving and expanding sector. We have an excellent heritage in infectious diseases and a management team with a track record of delivering value creation.”

Mr Skillington studied biochemistry at the National University of Ireland, Galway, where he was awarded his PhD. He performed his post-doctoral research at the University of California, and, having begun his biotechnology career in the Business Development group of Genentech Inc, in California in 2002, was responsible for executing over 40 licensing, investment, and collaboration transactions.

Returning to Ireland in 2009, he then led Business Development and was a member of the senior management team at Opsona Therapeutics Ltd, before becoming a founder and CEO of immuno-oncology company, TriMod Therapeutics Ltd. 

He joined Inflazome on its founding, in 2016, and was instrumental in their acquisition by Roche last September, for €380m. 

Professor Luke O’Neill, one of Ireland’s most high-profile commentators on the pandemic over the past 16 months, is a non-executive director of Poolbeg Pharma. 

Covid has dominated the global virus graph over the past 18 months.

A co-founder of Inflazome, he is a renowned immunologist and chair of biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin.

The fact that Covid-19 has dominated the global virus graph over the past year and a half has created deep concerns that severe influenza will roar back more virulently this winter — with an increased need for treatments.

“Developing new partnerships is a key strategy for us,” Mr Skillington said. “We seek scientific excellence, bring a strong capacity to identify and develop compelling opportunities across a variety of therapeutic areas, and strive for a world without infectious disease.”

The call to head up Poolbeg Pharma was a “no-brainer” for Mr Skillington: “It is fascinating science and we are clinical-ready, when it comes to influenza, and, really, there is no better time to be in infectious diseases, from a biotech standpoint.

Everything that has happened over the past 18 months has shocked the world, and there is tremendous support to prevent that ever happening again.

Addressing an unmet medical need is the prime driver of Poolbeg, in tandem with getting programmes for pharma to partner in the drive forward. A tremendous team effort brought Poolbeg Pharma to this point. 

“With an infectious-disease focus, I am looking forward to the exciting journey ahead, developing critically needed therapies for patients and increasing shareholder value for our investors. We have great science, great assets, and great underpinning data that we will be building upon.

"It is a tremendously exciting company to be part of at this point in time.”