NEWARK - Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. ('Protagonist' or the 'Company') (Nasdaq: PTGX) today reported financial results and provided a corporate update for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020.
'The year 2020 marked a significant period of growth for Protagonist as we focused on expanding the scope of our pipeline and advancing different development molecules in multiple clinical programs and indications,' commented Dinesh V. Patel, Ph.D., Protagonist President and Chief Executive Officer. 'In December, we released compelling interim data from our ongoing Phase 2 trial with our most advanced candidate, rusfertide, which has received orphan drug designation and Fast Track designation for the treatment of polycythemia vera, a rare disease that affects about 100,000 treated patients in the U.S. alone. In the first half of 2021, we expect to complete our planned regulatory interactions and finalize the registrational clinical development plan, which represents an important turning point for the Company as rusfertide has the potential to become a new therapeutic treatment option for polycythemia vera patients. Continuing with the momentum of building our rusfertide portfolio, we expect to announce initial results of the hereditary hemochromatosis proof-of-concept trial in the second half of 2021 and select an additional indication for this candidate in 2021.'
Dr. Patel added, 'This past year, we continued to make progress with our ongoing 150-patient, Phase 2 IDEAL trial in ulcerative colitis with the gut-restricted alpha-4-beta-7 integrin blocker PN-943 and expect to complete this study in 2022. During the year, we also added two new clinical development stage assets to the ongoing oral IL-23 receptor antagonist program with our partner, Janssen. With a strong cash position through mid-2024, we look forward to focusing our capital to continue building value across our portfolio.'
About Protagonist Therapeutics
Protagonist Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with multiple peptide-based new chemical entities in different stages of development. Rusfertide (PTG-300) is an injectable hepcidin mimetic in a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial for polycythemia vera, and a separate Phase 2 clinical study for hereditary hemochromatosis. PN-943 is an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha-4-beta-7 integrin specific antagonist peptide in a 150 patient Phase 2 study for the potential treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, with ulcerative colitis as the initial targeted indication. PTG-200 is an orally delivered, gut-restricted, interleukin-23 receptor specific antagonist peptide in a Phase 2 clinical trial for Crohn's disease. Two additional second-generation oral interleukin-23 receptor antagonist candidates PN-235 and PN-232, are in early stages of clinical development. The Company has developed a proprietary technology platform to discover and develop novel peptide-based therapeutics to address significant unmet medical needs and transform existing treatment paradigms.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions or current expectations concerning, among other things, the timing of our discussions with regulatory authorities, our expectations regarding enrollment in, and announcement of data from, our ongoing clinical trials and our plans to evaluate rusfertide for an additional indication. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'may,' 'will,' 'expect,' or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, our ability to earn milestone payments under our collaboration agreement with Janssen, the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on our discovery and development efforts, our ability to use and expand our programs to build a pipeline of product candidates, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates, our ability to operate in a competitive industry and compete successfully against competitors that have greater resources than we do, and our ability to obtain and adequately protect intellectual property rights for our product candidates. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors affecting our business can be found in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading 'Risk Factors' contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate, may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.
Contact:
Brian Korb
Tel: + 1 646-378-2923
Email: bkorb@soleburytrout.com
PROTAGONIST THERAPEUTICS, INC. 
