Sept. 17 Quick Takes: Clinical hold sinks Protagonist shares
Biocon partners with Serum Institute, plus Santé’s $260M fund, IASO Bio’s $108M series C, Everest in $12M renal deal and more
Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) shed more than half their value after the company said FDA is placing a clinical hold on studies of rusfertide (PTG-300), its injectable hepcidin mimetic peptide. The therapy is in Phase II testing to treat polycythemia vera and hereditary hemochromatosis. The company said the hold is based on findings from a mouse model in which benign and malignant subcutaneous skin tumors were observed. Protagonist lost 62% to $17.53 on Friday.
Serum Institute of India will gain a 15% stake in Biocon Biologics Ltd., with a post-money valuation of nearly $4.9 billion, in exchange for providing 100 million doses of vaccine annually for 15 years, and for granting commercialization rights of its SILS vaccine portfolio, including COVID-19 vaccines, for global markets. The alliance will also develop antibodies for several infectious diseases, such as HIV and Dengue. Adar Poonawalla, the CEO at Serum Institute of India, will join the board at Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon Ltd. (NSE:BIOCON; BSE:532523)...