Protagonist Appoints Sarah O'Dowd to Board of Directors
Protagonist Therapeutics (Nasdaq:PTGX) has appointed Sarah O'Dowd as an independent director on its Board, enhancing its governance with her extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical sector. O'Dowd's previous roles include key positions at Lam Research and FibroGen. She replaces Chaitan Khosla, who is stepping down. CEO Dinesh V. Patel emphasized her strategic expertise as vital for Protagonist's growth, particularly with its clinical assets focused on hematology/oncology and inflammatory bowel diseases. O'Dowd expressed eagerness to contribute to Protagonist's vision during this growth phase.
- Appointment of Sarah O'Dowd adds significant corporate governance and biopharmaceutical experience to the board.
- O'Dowd has a successful track record in driving growth-oriented strategies for public companies.
- Her expertise is expected to enhance shareholder value through Protagonist's clinical assets.
- Chaitan Khosla's departure may raise concerns about continuity and expertise on the board.
NEWARK, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:PTGX) today announced the appointment of Sarah O'Dowd as an independent director to the Protagonist Board of Directors. Ms. O'Dowd brings broad experience in management and corporate governance to Protagonist, including senior level oversight in the biopharmaceutical industry. In connection with the appointment, Chaitan Khosla, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry and Engineering at Stanford University, is stepping down from his position on the board.
"Ms. O'Dowd brings a significant amount of corporate governance, legal and business strategy experience and expertise to the board that will be invaluable with the continued evolution of Protagonist," commented Dinesh V. Patel, Ph.D., Protagonist President and Chief Executive Officer. "She has a proven track record of driving growth-oriented strategic plans for public companies, initially as outside corporate counsel and more recently in executive leadership positions. We welcome Sarah to this position as we constantly explore opportunities to build long-term shareholder value through our multiple clinical assets aimed at addressing significant unmet medical needs in hematology/oncology and inflammatory bowel diseases. In addition, we'd like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Khosla for his invaluable contributions to the foundation and progression of our research and clinical development functions during his many years with the board and the Company."
"I am honored to be joining Protagonist board at a critical time of its growth and expansion," commented Ms. O'Dowd. "Protagonist has a compelling pipeline of multiple and well differentiated assets in diverse indications, and I am looking forward to leveraging my experience to benefit Protagonist and support the corporate vision."
Sarah O'Dowd has been a director of Ichor Holdings since May 2020. Ms. O'Dowd previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary at the global technology firm Lam Research Corporation from October 2008 to March 2020. She also served as Lam Research's Vice President of Human Resources from 2009 to 2012. At Lam Research, Ms. O'Dowd led multiple initiatives relating to shareholder outreach on governance, ethics and compliance, IP strategy, foreign trade regulations and M&A transactions. Her experience includes the role of Vice President and General Counsel at FibroGen, a biopharmaceutical company, and a position on the board of directors of Corcept Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company. Ms. O'Dowd currently serves on the board of directors of the non-profit organization, the Independent Institute, and previously served on the board of trustees of the non-profit organization, the Reason Foundation. Ms. O'Dowd began her career at the law firm Heller Ehrman, where she held responsibility for business strategy. She holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School, an M.A. from Stanford University, and an A.B. from Immaculata College.
About Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.
Protagonist Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that utilizes a proprietary technology platform to discover and develop novel peptide-based therapeutics to address significant unmet medical needs and transform existing treatment paradigms for patients. The Company currently has three clinical-stage assets. PTG-300 is an injectable hepcidin mimetic in development for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders. PTG-200 is an orally delivered, gut-restricted, interleukin-23 receptor specific antagonist peptide in development for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, with Crohn's disease as the initial indication. The Company has a worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc., for the development of PTG-200. PN-943 is an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha-4-beta-7 integrin specific antagonist peptide in development for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, with ulcerative colitis as the initial targeted indication.
Protagonist is headquartered in Newark, California. For further information, please visit www.protagonist-inc.com.
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SOURCE Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.
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