General Counsel

The SVP/EVP, General Counsel will report to the Chief Executive Officer and have responsibility for both strategic and tactical legal initiatives. As a key member of the leadership team, this highly visible individual will provide effective advice and strategic support to senior leadership on company strategies. The General Counsel will be directly involved in complex business transactions, negotiating key contracts, corporate governance and privacy, risk management, financing activities, corporate and regulatory compliance and intellectual property.

Responsibilities

Set the overall philosophy and strategy of the organization regarding all legal matters and decisions.

Provide expert legal services and counsel to the business with high degree of independence.

Independently apply legal principles and judgment to develop legal strategies and provide expert advice on highly complex legal issues, including those that may have a significant financial impact, or which may have implications for the strategic goals, and those that involve strategic business partners.

Prepares, drafts, reviews, negotiates and modifies a wide variety of corporate and commercial contracts and other documents with legal significance.

Advise the company on all FDA regulatory matters and communicate potential regulatory risks.

Identifies the need for, initiates and directs implementation of legal and corporate policies.

Manages the selection, work direction and expenditures of outside counsel; and the Company’s legal budget.

Works effectively with the Company’s Board, providing advice and counsel, as well as reporting and communicating on key issues. Responsible for drafting and managing corporate resolutions, minutes, contracts and other documentation relating to the Board and committee activities.

Provide strategic advice on a variety of high-level, critical and time-sensitive issues to members of leadership team.

Position Requirements

JD degree; member of CA state bar in good standing.

10+ years of experience with a law firm and/or corporate company position, preferably in the life sciences industry.

Experience in and knowledge of industry standards and regulations for and risks facing a biotechnology company.

Hands on experience executing transactions such as collaboration agreements, venture debt, corporate governance, securities, regulatory compliance, litigation management, M&A, financial reporting compliance, and public and shareholder relations management. Global experience along with domestic experience a plus.

Experience in general securities and corporate law with an emphasis on representing public companies, including, compliance matters for publicly traded companies, i.e. coordinating and providing legal advice on corporate governance, Delaware corporation law, SEC fillings including proxy statements, 8-Ks, 10-Ks and 10-Qs, Section 16 and other public disclosures, Sarbanes-Oxley and NASDAQ compliance and disclosure matters.

Prior experience as Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary

Proven ability to manage complex legal transactions and multiple projects simultaneously.

An experienced leader, with well-honed management skills and the ability to provide clear leadership and mentorship throughout the Company.

Experience advising all audiences on legal issues.

Personal Qualifications

Ability to build and maintain strong working cross-functional relationships. A natural communicator who is able to present ideas discerningly, articulately and openly with the ability to effectively influence and buy-in from individuals at all levels.

Highly proactive self-starter who consistently delivers.

Ability to work in high stress situations and maintain calm, thoughtful and rationale.

Someone at ease in a changing organization and industry and able to excel by operating with a sense of urgency while remaining flexible, open-minded and adaptable.

Protagonist Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that utilizes a proprietary technology platform to discover and develop novel peptide-based drugs to address significant unmet medical needs and transform existing treatment paradigms for patients. The Company currently has three different assets in various stages of clinical development. All three were discovered through the use of the Company’s peptide technology platform. PTG-300 is an injectable hepcidin mimetic in development for the potential treatment of iron overload and related blood disorders, including hereditary hemochromatosis and rare diseases such as beta-thalassemia and polycythemia vera. PTG-200 is an orally delivered, gut-restricted interleukin-23 receptor specific antagonist peptide in Phase 2 clinical development for the potential 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 clinical development of PTG-200. PN-943 is an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha-4-beta-7 integrin specific antagonist peptide in clinical development for the potential treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, with a Phase 2 ulcerative colitis study expected to commence in the second quarter of 2020.