Accomplished hematologist-oncologist will
provide medical, clinical development, and strategic operational
leadership to the ongoing rusfertide Phase 3 development
program
NEWARK,
Calif., Nov. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Protagonist
Therapeutics (Nasdaq: PTGX) ("Protagonist" or "the Company") today
announced the appointment of Arturo
Molina, M.D., M.S., F.A.C.P. to the role of Chief Medical
Officer, effective November 7,
2022.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Molina to Protagonist
as our Chief Medical Officer," said Dinesh
V. Patel, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of
Protagonist. "As a widely respected hematologist-oncologist and
practicing physician, he brings a wealth of experience in clinical
research and development, including a strong track record of
advancing therapeutics from preclinical through Phase 1-3 studies,
global regulatory approvals, and successful commercial launches.
Arturo's immediate focus will align with our top priority—execution
of the Phase 3 VERIFY study of rusfertide in polycythemia vera.
With Arturo's arrival, we are further strengthening our world-class
team at Protagonist, firmly dedicated to our mission of advancing
new therapies to improve patients' lives."
"I am thrilled to join Protagonist at this exciting juncture,"
said Dr. Molina. "I believe rusfertide has the potential to
transform the treatment paradigm and patient journey for people
living with polycythemia vera. The opportunity to guide the Phase 3
VERIFY study forward to its successful completion, and to lead and
support preparations for rusfertide's potential regulatory review
and market approval, is exciting and well aligned to my personal
commitment to bringing meaningful therapeutic innovations into
settings of clinical practice and patient care."
Dr. Molina joins Protagonist from Sutro Biopharma, where he was
Chief Medical Officer since 2016. Prior to Sutro, Dr. Molina was
Vice President, Oncology Scientific Innovation at Johnson &
Johnson. Earlier in his career, Dr. Molina was Chief Medical
Officer at Cougar Biotechnology, acquired by Johnson & Johnson
in 2009. From 1991 to 2002, Dr. Molina was a faculty staff
physician in the Department of Hematology/Bone Marrow
Transplantation and Department of Medical Oncology/Therapeutics
Research at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center and Adjunct
Professor from 2002 to 2004. Dr. Molina earned his M.D. and M.S. in
physiology degrees from Stanford
University Medical Center, and a B.A. in psychology and B.S.
in zoology from the University of Texas at
Austin. Dr. Molina maintains an Adjunct Clinical Faculty
appointment in the Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology,
Stanford University School of
Medicine.
About Protagonist
Protagonist Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company with
peptide-based new chemical entities rusfertide and PN-235 in
advanced stages of clinical development, both derived from the
Company's proprietary technology platform. Rusfertide, a mimetic of
the natural hormone hepcidin, is the Company's lead drug candidate
currently in a global Phase 3 stage of development. The VERIFY
(Phase 3) and REVIVE (Phase 2) studies of rusfertide in
polycythemia vera are ongoing. Protagonist owns all marketing
rights to Rusfertide.
Protagonist has partnered with Janssen Biotech, Inc. on the
development of PN-235 (JNJ-77242113) in moderate-to-severe
psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. PN-235 is currently in
multiple studies in psoriasis, led by Janssen.
Protagonist is headquartered in Newark, California. For more information on
Protagonist, please visit the Company's website at
www.protagonist-inc.com.
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 potential benefits of
rusfertide to patients. 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 Biotech, the impact of the current COVID-19
pandemic on our discovery and development efforts, the impact of
the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine and Russia on any future studies, 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 most recently
filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q 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.
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SOURCE Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.