# Protagonist Therapeutics

Source: https://onco.cc/companies/protagonist-therapeutics/  
OnCo record `protagonist-therapeutics` (Company). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Protagonist is a California peptide company whose hepcidin mimetic rusfertide controls the excess red cell production of polycythaemia vera without repeated phlebotomy, with positive phase 3 VERIFY results in 2025 and a partnership with Takeda.

## Summary

Protagonist Therapeutics, listed on Nasdaq, designs peptide medicines. Rusfertide, an injectable mimetic of the iron hormone hepcidin, restricts iron available for red cell production and in the phase 3 VERIFY trial reduced the need for phlebotomy in polycythaemia vera, a chronic myeloproliferative blood cancer; Takeda licensed the drug in 2024. The company's other lead, the oral IL-23 receptor antagonist icotrokinra, is partnered with Johnson & Johnson in psoriasis. It appears on OnCo as a lead sponsor of phase 3 cancer trials on ClinicalTrials.gov.

## Fields

- Kind: Company
- Last checked: 2026-09-11
- Also known as: Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.; Protagonist
- Tags: ctgov-sponsor
- HQ: Newark, CA
- Type: biotech
- Website: https://www.protagonist-inc.com

## Sources

- Official website: https://www.protagonist-inc.com
- ClinicalTrials.gov: trials led by Protagonist Therapeutics: https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?lead=Protagonist%20Therapeutics

## Connected records

- fronts: [Targeted Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/targeted-therapy/)
- drugs: [Rusfertide](https://onco.cc/drugs/rusfertide/)
- companies: [Takeda](https://onco.cc/companies/takeda/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/protagonist-therapeutics.json