Protagonist Therapeutics, a US-based biotechnology company which is developing oral peptide therapeutics, has secured $4m additional series B funding from Pharmstandard International S.A., a holding company of Russia-based pharmaceutical OJSC Pharmstandard, bringing the total series B funding raised to $18m.
The new funding is in addition to the $14m series B financing previously announced in June 2013, which was led by Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, the venture capital subsidiary of US-based healthcare company Johnson & Johnson, and included the participation of Series A investors Lilly Ventures, the corporate venturing affiliate of US-based pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company, and Australia-based venture capital firm Starfish Ventures.
Alexander Shuster, president of Inbio Ventures, a management company representing Pharmstandard International, said: “Protagonist’s orally stable peptides represent a game-changing approach that especially enables the development of orally administered NCEs (new chemical entities) for inflammatory bowel diseases and other gastro-intestinal disorders. We were impressed by the company’s technology, partnerships, development achievements to date, and the management team.”
Dinesh V. Patel, president and chief executive officer of Protagonist Therapeutics, said: “The addition of Pharmstandard to our investor base reflects the growing international interest in the field of orally active peptides, as well as recognition by investors of the significant advantages offered by our technology over other approaches. This additional international investment enables us to further focus efforts on building a strong pipeline of developmental candidates for our internal pipeline and selective asset-based partnering.”
Protagonist is a spin-out of University of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Biosciences (IMB).