Protagonist (PTGX) Up 14% on Licensing Deal With Takeda
Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics PTGX moved up 14.0% on Thursday after management announced that it is entering into a worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Takeda TAK to develop and commercialize rusfertide, its investigational rare hematology drug.
An injectable hepcidin mimetic peptide, rusfertide is being evaluated by PTGX in the pivotal phase III VERIFY study to treat Polycythemia Vera (PV), a rare chronic blood disorder.
Per the terms of the agreement, Protagonist and Takeda will develop and commercialize rusfertide in the United States and share profits equally. With regard to the ex-U.S. markets, Takeda will be solely responsible for developing and marketing the drug. In the meantime, Protagonist will be accountable for completing the VERIFY study.
In return, PTGX will receive an upfront payment of $300 million from Takeda. The company will also be eligible to receive potential milestone payments and tiered royalties on net ex-U.S. sales of the drug.
The agreement also grants Protagonist an option to opt out of the equal profit-sharing arrangement in the United States. The milestone payments will total up to $330 million if the company does not exercise the opt-out rights. In the event the company does exercise this right, it will be eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $975 million and tiered royalties on net U.S. sales of the drug. The ex-U.S. rights will remain unaffected whether the company chooses to exercise the rights or not.
The deal is likely to benefit Protagonist, which is currently devoid of a marketed product. With no background in commercial marketing, the deal with Takeda mitigates the company’s risks of commercializing the candidate by itself. On top of that, it also provides the company with funds to sustain its business activities in the long run. This is likely one of the reasons for the share price surge.
In the past year, shares of Protagonist Therapeutics have surged 99.0% against the industry’s 13.7% decline.
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In addition to rusfertide, the deal with Takeda also includes rights to other specified second-generation hepcidin mimetic compounds.
Through the collaboration, Takeda intends to strengthen its foothold in the rare hematology drugs space. Last November, the FDA approved Takeda’s Adzyma to treat congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (cTTP), an ultra-rare blood clotting disorder.
Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. Price
Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. price | Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Protagonist currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A couple of better-ranked stocks in the overall healthcare sector include Anavex Life Sciences AVXL and Sarepta Therapeutics SRPT. While Anavex sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Sarepta carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
In the past 30 days, estimates for Anavex Life Sciences’ 2023 loss per share have improved from 57 cents to 53 cents. Shares of Anavex lost 45.4% in the year-to-date period.
Anavex beat earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, delivering an earnings surprise of 15.80% on average. In the last reported quarter, Anavex’s earnings beat estimates by 25.00%.
In the past 30 days, Sarepta’s loss estimates for 2023 have improved from a loss of $6.80 per share to $6.57. During the same period, earnings estimates for 2024 have risen from $1.71 to $2.14. Sarepta’s shares have gained 3.2% in the past year.
Sarepta’s earnings beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 48.67%. In the last reported quarter, Sarepta’s earnings beat estimates by 72.29%.
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