Written 2 Nov 2026, 17:04
Poolbeg Pharma is an AIM-listed drug developer with no approved products. Its lead asset is an oral pill meant to prevent a dangerous side effect of newer cancer immunotherapies. For two years the story was one of slipping timelines, a failed takeover approach and falling cash. In 2026 the first patients were dosed, a share placement raised £3.5m, and the shares roughly doubled over the year to the latest close of 6.5p in October 2026.
A pill to make cancer immunotherapy safer
Poolbeg's lead drug, POLB 001, is an oral p38 MAPK inhibitor, a drug that dampens inflammation signals. It targets Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS), an immune overreaction that can be life-threatening. The company says over 70% of patients on certain bispecific antibodies or CAR T-cell therapies get CRS. Because of the risk, these treatments are largely restricted to specialist cancer centres. No approved drug prevents CRS.
Poolbeg argues that preventing CRS would let hospitals outside specialist centres give these treatments. It cites independent research putting the market above US$10bn, covering multiple myeloma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma only. The FDA granted POLB 001 Orphan Drug Designation in May 2025.
The second programme is an oral GLP-1 obesity drug. It combines a GLP-1 agonist, the class of weight-loss drugs usually injected, with a microencapsulation technology licensed from AnaBio Technologies. The company's stated plan is to partner both programmes with larger drug companies, not to sell them itself. 29 Sep 2025 28 Apr 2026 29 Sep 2026 27 May 2025
Pivot to CRS and a new leadership team (2023-24)
POLB 001 first targeted severe influenza. A 2023 human challenge trial showed it cut inflammatory markers. The company then pivoted to cancer immunotherapy-induced CRS. In 2024 it reported mouse data and commissioned the research behind the US$10bn estimate.
In November 2023 it hired former executives of Amryt Pharma, a rare-disease company sold for US$1.48bn. In February 2024 co-founder Cathal Friel became Executive Chairman. The company talked of buying approved rare-disease drugs for revenue, and in April 2024 took a 12-month option on a Behçet's disease treatment. The material does not say what became of that option. Later reports no longer mention a commercial-drug strategy.
Cash fell from £12.2m at the end of 2023 to £7.8m a year later. The shares peaked at 13.7p in May 2024, then fell to 7.1p by December. 30 Apr 2024 12 Feb 2024 15 Feb 2024 20 May 2025 18 Sep 2024
The HOOKIPA bid that was not made (early 2025)
On 2 January 2025 US-listed HOOKIPA proposed an all-share combination with Poolbeg, to create a Nasdaq-listed company. HOOKIPA said it would raise about $30m. Poolbeg holders would have owned about 55%. On 20 February HOOKIPA said it would not make an offer and ended the talks. The material gives no reason.
The shares fell from 7.1p in December 2024 to 2.8p by March 2025. In May 2025 Poolbeg raised £4.865m at 2.5p a share. It also cut costs, including selective headcount reductions, and said the cash lasted into 2027. 2 Jan 2025 20 Feb 2025 21 Feb 2025 20 May 2025 23 May 2025 28 Apr 2026
Slow trial starts, then dosing (2025-26)
Deadlines moved repeatedly. In May 2025 the company said the POLB 001 trial would dose its first patient in H2 2025, with interim data in H1 2026 and topline data in H2 2026. The first patient was dosed on 13 July 2026. In September 2025 interim data was guided to 'summer 2026'. By July 2026 it was 'late summer 2026'. The company stated the oral GLP-1 trial would start in 2024. In May 2025 it said topline data was due in H1 2026. By April 2026 the start had moved to H2 2026 because of revised manufacturing lead times.
In between, the TOPICAL trial gained a UK regulatory approval (April 2026), free teclistamab from Johnson & Johnson, and a role in a £3.4m MRC-funded research programme. The FDA pre-IND meeting in May 2026 was broadly aligned with the company's plan, including a future Phase 3 endpoint. A July 2026 placement of 58.3m shares at 6p raised £3.5m. 20 May 2025 25 Sep 2025 8 Dec 2025 15 Apr 2026 26 May 2026 13 Jul 2026 14 Jul 2026 28 Apr 2026
“Interim data remains on track for late summer 2026” 13 Jul 2026
What explains the record
Poolbeg's progress depends on small amounts of money and on outside parties. Trial starts have waited on contractors, regulators, drug supply and manufacturing. Each delay used up cash, and cash was repeatedly the constraint: £16.2m at the end of 2022, £4.8m by June 2026.
The company has been strongest on assets that cost little: patents, regulatory designations, payer research, journal papers. Patents for the CRS use were granted in Australia, Canada, Europe and South Korea. Patient data is thinner. Eight patients have been dosed in an open-label study, with no efficacy results yet. 30 Apr 2024 29 Sep 2026 31 Mar 2026 11 May 2026 16 Jun 2026 6 Oct 2026
Who runs it and what they did
Jeremy Skillington is CEO. Cathal Friel is Executive Chair. Former Amryt executives joined in 2023, including David Allmond as Chief Business Officer. Management's incentive options vest only if the 14-day average share price reaches 17.945p. The shares have not been near that level since the grant, with a 2024 peak of 13.7p.
The team cut administrative costs from £5.3m (2024) to £4.9m (2025) and £1.3m in H1 2026, against £2.0m a year earlier. It abandoned the rare-disease buying plan and now focuses on cancer immunotherapy and obesity. It has secured regulatory, funding and trial-supply support, but no partnering deal has been announced. The company says discussions are ongoing and that interim data could advance them. Friel added £250,000 in the July 2026 placement. Two holders now disclose stakes above 6%: Roaring Waters Capital (6.55%) and Michael Kelly (6.27%). 15 Feb 2024 30 Apr 2024 28 Apr 2026 29 Sep 2026 22 Jul 2026 14 Sep 2026 6 Oct 2026
Eight patients dosed, cash into 2028
On 29 September 2026 the company reported eight of about 30 planned TOPICAL patients dosed, at six UK sites. A review of the first six patients found no reason to change the protocol. It says further sites are interested.
Cash was £4.8m at 30 June 2026, and the half-year loss was £1.9m. The July placement raised £3.5m before expenses. Management says that funds both trials through completion and extends cash into Q2 2028. The shares closed at 8.6p at the end of August and 7.4p at the end of September. The latest close, in October 2026, was 6.5p. 29 Sep 2026 28 Sep 2026 24 Sep 2026 14 Jul 2026
What the company expects next
The company expects the oral GLP-1 proof-of-concept study, in up to 20 obese subjects at the University of Ulster, to start in H2 2026. It plans to keep recruiting for TOPICAL and add sites. The latest report gives no new date for TOPICAL interim data. In July it said 'late summer 2026', and in April it said full data in 2026. It names Q2 2028 as the end of the cash runway.
Open questions: whether POLB 001 cuts CRS in patients, how soon data arrives, whether a partner signs, and whether Poolbeg can fund later trials without more share issues. Last year's placement was at 2.5p and this year's at 6p. Each raise has added shares, and the company has not said how it would pay for the Phase 3 trial the FDA discussed. 29 Sep 2026 13 Jul 2026 28 Apr 2026 26 May 2026
Written by AI from Poolbeg Pharma's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources