UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 19, 2019

 

 

PROTAGONIST THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Delaware

 

001-37852

 

98-0505495

(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)

 

(Commission
File Number)

 

(IRS Employer
Identification No.)

 

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.

7707 Gateway Blvd., Suite 140

Newark, California 94560-1160

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

 

(510) 474-0170

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

o       Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

o       Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

o       Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

o       Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company x

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. x

 

 

 

 

Item 5.02     Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

 

On March 19, 2019, Niall Murphy ceased serving as the Vice President and Corporate Controller of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (the “ Company ”), including in his capacity as Interim Principal Accounting Officer. Following Mr. Murphy’s departure, Dinesh V. Patel, Ph.D., the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, was appointed to serve as the Company’s Interim Principal Accounting Officer, effective as of March 20, 2019. Dr. Patel will also continue to serve as the Company’s Interim Principal Financial Officer.

 

Dr. Patel, age 62, has served as a member of the Company’s board of directors and as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer since December 2008. Dr. Patel has more than 30 years of executive, entrepreneurial and scientific experience spanning the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining the Company, Dr. Patel served from 2006 to 2008 as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Arête Therapeutics, a privately held company focused on the development of novel drugs for metabolic syndrome. Prior to that, he was President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Miikana Therapeutics, an oncology-based company, from 2003 until it was acquired by Entremed (later renamed CASI Pharmaceuticals) in 2005. Prior to Miikana, Dr. Patel held positions of increasing responsibility at Versicor (later renamed Vicuron and which was acquired by Pfizer in 2005), from 1996 to 2003, most recently as Senior Vice President of Drug Discovery and Licensing. Prior to Vicuron, Dr. Patel was a director of chemistry at the combinatorial chemistry company Affymax, from 1993 to 1996. Dr. Patel was a medicinal chemist at BristolMyers Squibb from 1985 to 1993. Dr. Patel received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Rutgers University, New Jersey and his B.S. in Industrial Chemistry from S. P. University, Vallabh Vidyanagar, India.

 

In connection with Dr. Patel’s appointment as Interim Principal Accounting Officer, the Company is not entering into any new agreement with Dr. Patel and no existing agreement between the Company and Dr. Patel is being amended.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

 

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.

 

 

Dated: March 25, 2019

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Dinesh V. Patel

 

 

Dinesh V. Patel

 

 

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

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