Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX) TD Cowen 46th Annual Health Care Conference summary

Strategic overview and partnerships

• Transitioned from a platform company to developing and commercializing assets through partnerships with J&J and Takeda, achieving financial independence and the ability to self-fund future R&D without shareholder dilution.

• Emphasizes a repeatable strategy: focus on unmet needs and strong differentiation, scaling R&D for greater impact across short, medium, and long-term horizons.

• Partnerships are prioritized for larger indications, leveraging pharma expertise for commercialization, while smaller indications may be pursued independently.

• Deal structures are designed to retain significant economics, with flexibility for co-development and validation through pharma collaborations.

• Independence is maintained through strong shareholder conviction, robust cash flow, and a diversified pipeline, with consideration for share buybacks to return value.

Product pipeline and market opportunities

• Icotrokinra (Iko), an oral IL-23 blocker, is positioned as a first- and only-in-class therapy for psoriasis, with a launch led by J&J expected later this year.

• Clinical data show placebo-like safety and high efficacy, with 70%+ of psoriasis patients achieving near-complete skin clearance in 16 weeks; Phase II UC data show 30% clinical remission.

• Market research indicates 75%-90% of injectable patients would switch to an oral, and over half of eligible patients currently avoid targeted therapy due to dissatisfaction with existing options.

• Consensus analyst estimates for Iko's market potential are $10–12 billion, with J&J's internal projections placing it in the $5 billion+ category.

• Psoriatic arthritis market is estimated at 10–15% of the broader immunology market, with high optimism for translation of efficacy from psoriasis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and future directions

• Phase II UC data for Iko demonstrate strong efficacy in both biologic-naive and experienced patients, with Phase III trials maintaining similar inclusion criteria.

• J&J advanced directly to Phase III in UC without prior Crohn's data, reflecting high confidence in the mechanism and data.

• Iko is expected to be used across the treatment spectrum, potentially as a first-line therapy, with combination therapy seen as a key strategy for induction and maintenance.