Protagonist Therapeutics has filed an S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering (IPO). No pricing details were listed in the filing, but the offering is valued up to $75 million. The company intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol PTGX.
The underwriters for the offering are Leerink Partners, Barclays and BMO Capital Markets.
This clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company has a proprietary technology platform focused on discovering and developing peptide-based new chemical entities to address significant unmet medical needs.
The company’s primary focus is on developing first-in-class oral peptide drugs that specifically target biological pathways also targeted by currently marketed injectable antibody drugs. Compared to injectable antibody drugs, these oral peptides offer targeted delivery to the gastrointestinal (GI) tissue compartment, potential for improved safety due to minimal exposure in the blood, improved convenience and compliance due to oral delivery and the opportunity for earlier introduction of targeted therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The initial lead product candidates, PTG-100 and PTG-200, are based on this approach, and Protagonist believes they have the potential to transform the existing treatment paradigm for IBD, a GI disease consisting primarily of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD).
PTG-100 is a potential first-in-class oral, alpha-4-beta-7 integrin-specific antagonist peptide product candidate, which has now completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in normal healthy volunteers. Protagonist plans to initiate a Phase 2b clinical trial in moderate-to-severe UC patients by the end of the fourth quarter of 2016. The second product candidate, PTG-200, is a potential first-in-class oral Interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) antagonist being developed initially for moderate-to-severe CD. Interleukin-23 is a protein produced by white blood cells that regulates inflammatory and immune functions. PTG-200 is currently in Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies, and the company plans to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2017.
The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to further fund and develop its pipeline, with the remainder going toward working capital and general corporate purposes.
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