Protagonist raises $14m for peptide discovery

Protagonist Therapeutics, a drug discovery company spun out of the University of Queensland, has raised $14 million in a Series B venture funding round.

The financing round was led by new investor Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation. Melbourne-based existing investors Lilly Ventures and Starfish Ventures also participated.

Protagonist was established in 2001 based on research from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB). It conducts discovery operations at IMB and in California, where it is headquartered.

Protagonist has raised around $23 million since it was established. The company raised $3 million in its first round of financing in 2002.

The company is focused on developing oral disulfide rich peptide (DRP) treatments that combine the advantages of small-molecule drugs and large-molecule biologics.

“This additional funding will help us progress our internal peptide drug discovery and development programs into improved treatments for patients,” Protagonist founder and IMB Associate Professor Mark Smythe said.

“It also complements our existing commercial partnerships with Massachusetts-based Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and Denmark-based Zealand Pharma.”

Smythe said the Queensland Government has allocated $10 million towards supporting IMB’s medical and bioscience discovery research in 2013-14.