Protagonist Therapeutics enters deal for rusfertide with Takeda

Clinical-stage US pharma company Protagonist Therapeutics' (Nasdaq: PTGX) shares rose 6% to $26.5O in early trading, on news of a licensing deal for its blood disorder candidate rusfertide.

The company signed a worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Japan’s largest drugmaker, Takeda (TYO: 4502), for the development and commercialization of rusfertide, an investigational injectable hepcidin mimetic peptide of the natural hormone hepcidin, currently in a pivotal Phase III trial, VERIFY, for the treatment of polycythemia vera (PV).

PV is a rare chronic blood disorder characterized by excessive production of red blood cells that affects as many as 160,000 patients in the USA, with a similar prevalence in Europe. The hallmark manifestations of PV are increased red blood cell count and iron deficiency, putting patients at higher risk of cardiovascular and thrombotic events, such as heart attack and stroke, often impacting quality-of-life with symptoms such as fatigue and confusion.