Senior Director, API Development

 

Protagonist Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company built on a proprietary peptide technology platform that has now produced two FDA-approved, first-in-class medicines, generating royalties and milestones from global commercial partnerships with Johnson and Johnson and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. ICOTYDE (icotrokinra), licensed to Johnson & Johnson company Janssen Biotech, Inc., is the first and only targeted oral peptide that precisely blocks the Interleukin-23 receptor. ICOTYDE was launched in the U.S. in March 2026 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age or older and is in Phase 3 development for psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. ICOTYDE was jointly discovered by Protagonist and Johnson & Johnson scientists, with Protagonist having primary responsibility for the development of ICOTYDE through Phase 1, and Johnson & Johnson assuming responsibility for further clinical and regulatory development and commercialization. Protagonist also discovered and led research and development through Phase 3 for MIMRYLO (rusfertide), a first-in-class hepcidin mimetic peptide licensed to Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited for worldwide commercialization. MIMRYLO is approved in the U.S. for the treatment of erythrocytosis in adults with PV. The Company also has a number of clinical and preclinical programs based on clinically and commercially validated targets and addressing unmet medical needs, including an oral IL-17 antagonist peptide, anti-obesity dual and triple agonists, an oral hepcidin functional mimetic, and the recently announced IL-4 and amylin discovery programs.

More information on Protagonist, its pipeline drug candidates, and clinical studies can be found on the Company's website at https://www.protagonist-inc.com.

 

Protagonist Therapeutics is seeking an experienced API process research and development chemist to support route scouting, organic synthesis process development and scale up of our synthetic peptide drugs. The successful candidate will handle chemical process research, large scale laboratory production and process and related technology transfer to CDMOs and management of partnering CDMOs. The candidate will be heading and managing the API group.

We are committed to a thriving in-office culture. This role requires being on-site at our office in Newark, CA 4 days a week.

 

The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $245,000 and $280,000/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

 

A top priority for Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. is to provide a robust and comprehensive health and wellness program for our employees and their families. We offer a variety of high-quality coverage and benefit options.