Protagonist Therapeutics is a Newark, California clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that turns peptides - short chains of amino acids long dismissed as too fragile to be drugs - into stable, often orally available medicines. Its proprietary peptide discovery and engineering platform powers a pipeline spanning hematology, inflammation/immunology and metabolic disease, anchored by rusfertide (a hepcidin mimetic for polycythemia vera under FDA Priority Review) and icotrokinra, an oral IL-23 receptor blocker partnered with Johnson & Johnson that reached the U.S. market in 2026. Publicly traded on Nasdaq as PTGX, the company pairs internal discovery with high-value pharma partnerships.
Dr. Judy Chou is the President, CEO, and Board Member of AltruBio Inc., a clinical-stage biotech company in San Francisco pioneering a first-in-class immune checkpoint enhancer platform targeting PSGL-1/CD162 to treat autoimmune diseases. With over 25 years of experience spanning Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Genentech, and Wyeth, she led AltruBio through a landmark $225M Series B financing in 2024 and is advancing lead candidate ALTB-268 through Phase 2 trials for ulcerative colitis. Recognized as one of Endpoints News' Top 20 Women in Biopharma (2025) and a Most Influential Women in Business honoree (San Francisco Business Times, 2018), she holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and conducted post-doctoral training at the Max-Planck Institute in Germany.