Jeremy Skillington

Recognition

Poolbeg Pharma CEO Jeremy Skillington recognised as Irish biotech sector gains momentum.

Jeremy Skillington, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Poolbeg Pharma plc, has been named Biopharma & Life Sciences Connected Person of the Month for May 2026.

The recognition acknowledges Skillington’s leadership of Poolbeg Pharma and his wider contribution to the development of Ireland’s biotechnology sector.

Ireland is internationally established as a centre for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Alongside that strength, a growing group of Irish-founded companies are developing medicines, intellectual property and commercial capability from Ireland, broadening the country’s role within the global life sciences industry.

Poolbeg Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a core focus on transforming the cancer immunotherapy field. The company’s lead programme, POLB 001, has the potential to expand administration of cancer immunotherapies from centralised specialist cancer centres into community hospitals by making treatments safer through the prevention of the life-threatening side effect, Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS). As such, POLB 001 could increase the number of patients that receive these life-saving treatments. Poolbeg is also developing an oral encapsulated GLP-1, a patient-friendly therapy for obesity, offering a differentiated approach in one of the world’s largest markets.

Prior to Poolbeg, Jeremy was instrumental in the acquisition of Irish biotech company Inflazome by Roche in 2020 for €380M upfront and downstream development milestones. In addition Jeremy was member of the Indigenous Steering Committee for the “Together, for Others – A Strategy for Ireland’s BioPharmaChem Indigenous Ecosystem” recently launched by BioPharmaChem Ireland and sits on the Advisory Committee for the ARC Hub for Therapeutics. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin lecturing in Bioentrepreneurship.

Skillington has worked across the biotechnology sector for more than two decades. His career has included roles at Genentech, Opsona Therapeutics, TriMod Therapeutics, HS Lifesciences and Inflazome. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of Poolbeg Pharma since 2021.

Jeremy Skillington, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Poolbeg Pharma plc, said:

“I am honoured to be recognised with this award for my contributions to Irish biotech sector. We’re at an exciting stage in our Poolbeg journey advancing POLB 001 towards what we believe could be a transformative treatment for cancer immunotherapy patients, and progress like this is only possible because of the talented teams and collaborators we work alongside. Ireland has built a genuinely world-class life science ecosystem, and it’s a privilege to be a part of its continued growth.”

Under Skillington’s leadership, Poolbeg Pharma has continued to advance its development programmes while building its profile with investors, research partners and the wider international life sciences community.

The company’s progress also reflects the work of a wider team spanning scientific development, finance, investor relations and communications. As a publicly listed company, Poolbeg Pharma’s ability to communicate scientific and commercial progress clearly is central to maintaining engagement with investors, partners and the market.

Colin Murphy, Founder and Chairman of Ingenious Media, said Skillington’s recognition reflected the increasing confidence and ambition within Ireland’s home-grown life sciences sector.

“Jeremy has built a career at the point where science, company development and commercial opportunity meet. His leadership at Poolbeg Pharma reflects the ambition we are seeing across Irish-founded life sciences companies and the growing role they can play in international drug development.

“We are delighted to recognise Jeremy as Person of the Month for May 2026 and look forward to welcoming him, together with the other monthly recipients, to Cork in January.”

The award was presented to Skillington by Colin Murphy at Poolbeg Pharma’s Dublin office on 16th June 2026.

Skillington joins Tom Quinn, Vice President and Site Head at Novo Nordisk Production Ireland, and Edel Collins, General Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific, among the recipients recognised through the 2026 Biopharma & Life Sciences Connected Person of the Month programme.

The initiative recognises individuals making a meaningful contribution to Ireland’s biopharma, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and wider life sciences sectors.

The monthly recipients will be recognised at the Biopharma & Life Sciences Connected Awards at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island, Cork, on 28th January 2027. The overall Person of the Year will be selected from the 2026 recipients.