'This is a great opportunity to help people': Poolbeg on mission to enhance cancer treatment

Poolbeg’s lead drug promises to curb a dangerous side effect of cutting-edge cancer immunotherapies

Poolbeg Pharma chief executive Jeremy Skillington. Listed in London, Poolbeg is in preparation for a pivotal clinical trial to take place in the UK next year. 

At the centre of Ireland’s vibrant biotechnology scene, Cork native Jeremy Skillington is leading Poolbeg Pharma’s charge to transform cancer treatment.

The company is in preparation for a pivotal clinical trial to take place in the UK next year. Poolbeg’s lead drug, POLB 001, promises to curb a dangerous side effect of cutting-edge cancer immunotherapies, potentially allowing patients to receive life-saving treatments closer to home.

From Cork city, Skillington’s career took him to California’s biotech hub for 11 years, where he worked at Genentech and completed a postdoc at UC San Francisco. “I got my start at Genentech… then came back… It’s funny in that there’s lots of strong connections,” he reflects, noting the tight-knit biotech world.

He joined renowned immunologist Luke O’Neill at Inflazome before its €1bn sale to Roche in 2020. He then joined Poolbeg in 2021, when serial entrepreneur and founder Cathal Friel proposed spinning out the company from hVIVO.

Listed in London, Poolbeg boasts Irish expertise with Luke O’Neill joining Skillington again as a scientific advisor along with non-executive director Brendan Buckley, a UCC graduate and former Icon chief medical officer and founder.

Poolbeg, with just a handful of employees, operates leanly, outsourcing manufacturing and trials to stay agile. A recent £5m (€5.72bn) raise from institutional and high-net-worth investors fuels its mission. The company’s focus is POLB 001, a small molecule pill tackling cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a severe immune overreaction in cancer immunotherapies like bispecific antibodies. CRS, likened to covid-era cytokine storms, can cause tissue damage, requiring hospital monitoring. “They’re walking a tightrope with these cancer immunotherapies… Sometimes it goes a bit too far,” Skillington explains.

POLB 001 aims to change that. Taken before treatment, it “keeps the immune system in check, lets the cancer drug do its work”, he says, potentially reducing hospital stays. Imagine a patient in Westport receiving treatment locally instead of traveling to Dublin. A prior trial showed POLB 001 blunted inflammation at medium and high doses, and now, a 30-day trial in Manchester will test it in 30 multiple myeloma patients. With CRS rates at 70-72% for these therapies, a drop to 50% or lower could be transformative. “We’ll have a good readout by the summer of next year… If it works for one antibody, chances are it’ll work for all,” Skillington says, eyeing partnerships with big pharma.

The drug’s impact spans what Skillington calls the “four P’s”: patients benefit from fewer symptoms and less hospital time; pharma companies can treat more patients; physicians focus on care, not side effects; and payers save on hospital costs. “Payers are very excited if you can keep patients out of hospital,” he notes. Success could spark a “bidding war” among pharma giants, mirroring Inflazome’s sale.

Skillington’s passion is also personal: “We all know somebody who’s been afflicted by cancer. This is a great opportunity to help people.” Beyond POLB 001, Poolbeg is exploring an oral GLP-1 drug for diabetes and weight loss, partnering with AnaBio to test it in 2026. Such drugs through Ozempic and Mounjaro are hardly niche but Skillington said they will conduct a small study of an oral version of the drug aiming to cut glucose levels.

Cathal Friel joins the conversation to outline an ambitious roadmap for Poolbeg, viewing it as a potential powerhouse in the small-cap arena. Drawing from his track record — delivering 700% returns on Amryt Pharma over six to seven years and a 15x uplift for pre-IPO investors in Open Orphan (now HVIVO) — Friel emphasized Poolbeg's strategy of snapping up undervalued assets and turning them into high-value entities.

"We don't sit tight like big pharma," he said, rejecting a passive wait for summer trial results. Instead, he anticipates "pleasant surprises" this winter through shareholder-enhancing transactions, likely acquisitions, or partnerships. This aligns with his model of bolt-on deals, often executed via shares to avoid dilutive fundraises. Friel treats shareholder money as his own, a philosophy honed from managing compact teams in Dublin.

Friel's optimism extends to Ireland's wider biotech landscape, viewing Poolbeg as a "national champion" akin to Elan in the 1990s. He hinted at brewing international interest, with firms eyeing Ireland's manufacturing capacity for European markets. Amid a pivot from US stocks to Europe — fuelled by Trump-era uncertainties and Ukraine's potential resolution — Friel sees small-caps like Poolbeg thriving, targeting 300%-400% returns rather than modest gains.

He said that as Europe rebuilds its "fortress," Poolbeg could emerge as a key player, blending innovation with shrewd deal-making.