Poolbeg Pharma reaches R&D milestone as partner CytoReason completes AI influenza disease model
( ), a clinical stage infectious disease company, announced that its partner CytoReason has completed the construction of a computational AI influenza disease model, and is on track to deliver outputs in 2Q 2023.
CytoReason's tailored AI model aims to unlock clinically meaningful insights into influenza infection and recovery through analysis of Poolbeg's human challenge trial data, Poolbeg explained.
CytoReason's algorithms and expertise should enable Poolbeg to identify the most promising drug targets to treat disease. Poolbeg said it plans to source drugs with existing Phase 1 safety data that, in line with its business model, can immediately continue clinical development to rapidly generate early human proof of concept data for influenza.
Poolbeg could then monetise the asset through partnerships and licensing deals with pharma and biotech companies.
Jeremy Skillington, PhD, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma, commented: "CytoReason builds world-class AI disease models and we look forward with great anticipation to the outputs from their analysis of our unique repository of clinical samples and associated data from influenza human challenge trials. Indeed this is the first time that AI is being used to analyse influenza human challenge trial data which Poolbeg is proud to be part of."
David Harel, CEO of CytoReason, commented: "Now that our influenza disease model has been enriched by Poolbeg's unparalleled data, we are excited to evaluate the novel disease mechanisms on our platform. This will potentially identify drug targets that can be used to develop treatments for influenza, a significant global health threat, in a much shorter time-frame and more cost effectively than with traditional reductionist analysis and drug discovery techniques."
View from Vox
Another significant milestone for Poolbeg as the company continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of AI models for identifying drug targets. Poolbeg initially partnered with CytoReason in March, and has reached today's target in only 8 months, with outputs on track to be delivered in 2Q 2023.
CytoReason's technology has been externally validated through its commercial partnerships with 5 of the world's top 10 global pharma companies accessing its AI models, including Pfizer, Roche, and Sanofi. Notably, CytoReason signed a US$110m deal with Pfizer in September. As an established name in the industry, CytoReason's decision to partner with Poolbeg for its first AI model in infectious diseases further testifies to the value of Poolbeg's data.
Indeed, Poolbeg is now progressing two AI programmes with the aim of identifying drug targets and treatments for RSV and influenza, both significant global health threats. Earlier this month, Poolbeg announced an AI breakthrough via partner OneThree Biotech when the latter used its AI model to identify novel RSV drug targets using Poolbeg's RSV human challenge trial data. Investors should expect final results from that programme by the end of 2022.
While Poolbeg's partnership with CytoReason's represents the first time AI has been used to analyse influenza human challenge trial data, the company's partnership with OneThree Biotech represents the first time AI has been used to identify disease targets in RSV. Poolbeg is therefore at the cutting edge of AI-accelerated drug discovery, and its R&D strategy has paid off so far.
As a result, investors have given the company a thumbs up in the last 6 months, driving shares 34% higher. Both AI partnerships are expected to deliver outputs in the coming months, representing further value inflection points investors should be mindful of.
Poolbeg will then aim to monetise the assets through partnerships and licensing deals with pharma and biotech. Poolbeg's capital-light model is nonstandard as it aims to develop and bring products through to early human proof of concept in the clinic, then partner with large players in the industry that continue the pipeline to production and distribution. Thus, Poolbeg profits from the relatively inexpensive human trial process, now enhanced with their partners' AI analysis, and then exits at the scale-up stage.
Poolbeg has a rapidly growing pipeline of infectious disease products. Poolbeg's current flagship is POLB 001, a severe influenza candidate, which the company aims to out-license to US and/or European pharma and biotech partners, targeting a significant upfront payment plus royalties. POLB 001 should begin to generate value shortly after completion of trials by end of 2022.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, infectious disease has become one of the fastest growing pharma markets and is expected to exceed $250bn by 2025. With its aggressive R&D strategy and strong cash position of £18.9m as of 30 June 2022, Poolbeg is successfully targeting this growing market.
Follow News & Updates from Poolbeg Pharma:
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.