Greg Bourne is the Vice President of Chemistry and Site Head at Protagonist Therapeutics. As one of the company’s founding employees, Greg brings over 25 years of experience in medicinal and organic chemistry. Throughout his career, he has successfully developed peptide drug candidates that has reached human clinical trials. Greg served as the project leader and primary inventor of rusfertide, a hepcidin mimetic currently undergoing New Drug Application (NDA) filing with the FDA for the treatment of polycythaemia vera, following positive Phase 3 results. He is also a co-inventor of icotrokinra (JNJ-2113, formerly PN-235), the first targeted oral peptide designed to selectively block the IL-23 receptor — a key driver of the inflammatory response in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Licensed to Johnson & Johnson, icotrokinra has also demonstrated promise in other immunological diseases, including a recently completed Phase 2 study in colitis. In addition, Greg is a co-inventor of multiple pipeline assets, including: • PN-881, a first-in-class oral IL-17 triple antagonist (AA, AF, FF) with a potential best-in-class profile, expected to enter Phase 1 clinical trials in Q4 2025. • PN-477, an oral GLP-1/GIP/GCGR agonist planned for first-in-human dosing in Q2 2026. Greg earned his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Cambridge, conducting his doctoral research at the Parke-Davis Laboratories, Addenbrooke's Hospital site