IMB spin-out Protagonist Therapeutics recently announced exciting news: positive topline results from Phase 3 studies of their psoriasis drug, icotrokinra.
The studies found that a daily oral dose of icotrokinra achieved significant skin clearance versus a placebo in adults and adolescents with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.
This skin condition affects more than 500,000 Australians each year, resulting in red, scaly patches that can cause itching and pain.
The study results are now being prepared for submission to health authorities and presented at medical congresses.
Protagonist has bases in the San Francisco and in Brisbane, where a dedicated team works with their overseas colleagues to advance improved treatments for a range of diseases.
Protagonist was spun out of the research of Associate Professor Mark Smythe, with the vision of harnessing peptides to develop new oral drugs.
“I want to find better therapeutics for diseases that it was traditionally thought could only be treated with only injectable medication,” he said.
“Inspired by colleagues at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience exploring the components of animal venoms, I recognised the untapped potential of venom-derived molecules for human therapeutics.”
This vision led to the development of a cutting-edge drug discovery platform, resulting in several drug candidates, including icotrokinra,
Dr Smythe founded Protagonist and served as the company CEO and in various Executive roles, for two decades before stepping down to become CEO of Infensa Bioscience, which is based on another IMB discovery from animal venom.
