Cathal Friel-led Poolbeg Pharma set to float on AIM

Infectious disease specialist Poolbeg Pharma is to list on the London Stock Exchange's junior market, AIM, with a view to raising the funds needed to develop its product pipeline.

The outfit is the third life science firm from the Cathal Friel and Raglan Capital stable, alongside Amryt and Open Orphan.

Four days before, Open Pharma had announced its intention to distribute Orph Pharma Company Limited's share capital in specie.

"Poolbeg's approach to asset development should result in good licensing opportunities and excellent returns in a relatively short period of time with substantially less risk than the traditional biotech model and allow for regular investor newsflow," Poolbeg's non-executive chairman, Cathal Friel said.

Friel was also the executive chairman of Open Orphan.

The total addressable Infectious Disease market was put by Poolbeg at $250bn by 2025.

The company also noted how the estimated cost of the Covid-19 pandemic measured by lost economic output and reduced health amounted to 90% of US gross domestic product.

Its main asset was POLB 001, a Phase II ready small molecule immunomodulator for severe influenza.

The value of the addressable market for severe flu was put at $800m.

Poolbeg also had a vaccine discovery platform to seek out new vaccines which might generate "significant" shareholder value.

It also owned the PredictViral Biomarker platform for predicting severe disease, which the firm said held the "potential to transform the way infectious diseases are treated".

There was also a pipeline of further assets for acquisition post-IPO.