Protagonist Therapeutics Earns $7.5 Million Milestone Payment from IL-23 Receptor Collaboration with Janssen
October 26, 2021 at 07:00 am EDT
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Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it will receive a $7.5 million milestone payment from Janssen Biotech, Inc. (Janssen) triggered by the completion of the clinical data collection-related Phase 1 activities for PN-235 (JNJ-2113). This investigational drug candidate is one of the three IL-23 receptor antagonists that are part of Protagonist's collaboration agreement with Janssen, which provides for concurrent development of multiple oral IL-23 receptor antagonists against a broad range of indications. This collaboration provides for the concurrent development of multiple oral IL-23 receptor antagonists against a broad range of both IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and non-IBD indications that can be treated through blockade of the IL-23 pathway. The compounds currently in development are PTG-200, an oral IL-23 receptor antagonist in Phase 2 development for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD), and PN-232 and PN-235, two second-generation oral IL-23 receptor antagonist candidates. PN-232 and PN-235 are currently in Phase 1 clinical development. Future milestones for Phase 2 and Phase 3 successes are contemplated in the collaboration agreement, as are royalties for Protagonist on products from this portfolio that achieve market approval and entry. Janssen Biotech, Inc., part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, has exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize PTG-200, PN-232, PN-235 and any other second-generation compounds derived from this research collaboration. Protagonist will have the right to co-detail up to two licensed products in ulcerative colitis and CD in the U.S. market.
Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company uses its peptide-based chemical entities rusfertide and JNJ-2113 in different stages of development, all derived from its proprietary discovery technology platform. The Companyâs clinical programs fall into two categories of diseases: hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. Its lead clinical asset, rusfertide (PTG-300), is an injectable hepcidin mimetic in development for the potential treatment of polycythemia vera (PV) and other blood disorders. The Companyâs Interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) antagonist compound JNJ-2113 is an orally delivered investigational drug that is designed to block biological pathways targeted by marketed injectable antibody drugs. Its PN-943 is a wholly owned investigational orally delivered gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 (α4β7) specific integrin antagonist for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).