Protagonist raises $40M in series C

Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. (Milpitas, Calif.) raised $40 million in a series C round led by Canaan Partners. New investors Adage Capital Management; RA Capital; and Foresite Capital also participated, as did existing investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC Inc., the venture arm of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ); Lilly Ventures; the Pharmstandard International S.A. subsidiary of Pharmstandard OJSC (RTS:PHST; LSE:PHST); and Starfish Ventures.

Protagonist is developing oral peptides to treat gastrointestinal disorders. It expects to begin a Phase I trial by YE15 of PTG-100, an integrin alpha(4)beta(7) peptide antagonist, to treat inflammatory bowel disease. ...