US-based biotechnology company Protagonist Therapeutics closed a $40m series C round on Thursday backed by pharmaceutical companies Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and Pharmstandard.
Johnson & Johnson invested through its corporate venturing unit Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), while Eli Lilly participated through its own strategic investment fund, Lilly Ventures.
Venture capital firm Canaan Partners led the round, which also featured Adage Capital Management, RA Capital Management, Foresite Capital, and Starfish Ventures.
Protagonist is developing oral treatments for inflammatory bowel diseases and other gastrointestinal conditions. Its technology platform is based on research initially conducted at University of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Biosciences.
Protagonist closed an $18m series B round in 2013 led by JJDC that also included Lilly Ventures, Pharmstandard and Starfish. Lilly Ventures, Starfish and QIC BioVentures had already provided $9m in series A funding in 2006.
The company will use the series C funding to advance its lead drug candidate for inflammatory bowel diseases into a Phase 1 clinical trial by the end of 2015, and to further develop its pipeline.
Dinesh Patel, president and CEO of Protagonist, said: “We are pleased with the strong support received from a broad cross section of high quality investors in this financing, which has allowed us to create a well-balanced syndicate and will enable us to advance our key programmes into the clinic.”