In May 2017, the company signed a deal which could earn it almost $1 billion with Janssen, the pharma unit of US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), for the co-development and commercialization of PTG-200, Protagonist's first-in-class, oral peptide interleukin (IL)-23 receptor antagonist for all indications including inflammatory bowel disease.

PTG-200 is expected to enter Phase I clinical testing in normal healthy volunteers in the second half of 2017.

Protagonist, which has bases in the USA and Australia, received $50 million upfront and will be paid a further $125 million if Janssen elects to maintain the license into Phase IIb development, $200 million if Janssen elects to proceed into late-stage development, and up to $615 million in additional milestones and ten-to-mid-teen royalties on global net sales.