The American pharmaceutical company Johnson &Johnson (J&J) is in talks to acquire all shares of Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. This is reported by foreign media.
J&J, which already owns a 4% stake in Protagonist, is collaborating with the company to develop treatments for immune diseases.
J&J and the Protagonist began collaborating in 2017 on the basis of an agreement on licensing and joint development of the drug icotrokinra for psoriasis, which, from the point of view of experts, has the potential to treat a range of autoimmune diseases and can generate maximum annual sales of $10 billion.
The deal is aimed at strengthening J&J's position in the market of drugs for the treatment of cancer diseases, as the popular immunotherapy drug Stelara faces competition from cheaper analogues. Protagonist, together with Takeda Pharmaceutical, is developing the drug rusfertide for the treatment of rare blood cancer.
In early 2025, J&J acquired Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc., specializing in the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system, for $14 billion. The company is also developing an experimental oral anti-obesity drug.
Johnson &Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technology corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey. J&J includes 250 pharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiaries.
Protagonist Therapeutics is an American biopharmaceutical company developing new peptide—based chemical compounds for the treatment of rare diseases for which there are a limited number of treatments. The headquarters is located in Milpitas, California.
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