CEO of US Bio Company Gifts Shares Worth Billions to Relatives Before Cashing Out Stock Options

On March 23, 2026, Dinesh V. Patel, CEO of Nasdaq-listed biotech company Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (PTGX), gifted 50,000 shares of common stock to family members, transferring approximately $5.05 million (about KRW 6.8 billion) in equity. Over March 24–25, he exercised vested stock options for roughly 54,000 shares at $8.58 per share and immediately sold the same number of shares in a cashless transaction at $101 per share, realizing proceeds of about $5.52 million (KRW 7.4 billion) while retaining approximately 524,938 shares.

On March 26, CFO Asif Ali exercised two option grants to acquire around 24,000 shares and sold them at $104.24 per share, completing a transaction valued at roughly $2.58 million (KRW 3.5 billion). In doing so, he realized an intrinsic gain of about $1.96 million (KRW 2.7 billion) and increased his direct holdings to about 60,753 shares, now worth approximately $6.3 million (KRW 8.5 billion).

Also on March 26, the company’s chief medical officer disposed of 15,000 shares of common stock, raising approximately $1.57 million (around KRW 2.0 billion) at a price near the 52-week high. Meanwhile, on March 18, Protagonist Therapeutics received U.S. FDA approval for its psoriasis treatment Icotyde, triggering a $50 million milestone payment from Johnson & Johnson (roughly KRW 67.5 billion) and sustaining regulatory and commercialization momentum across its key pipeline.

Headquartered in Newark, California, Protagonist Therapeutics is a peptide-based biotech firm developing therapies for hematologic, inflammatory and immune diseases. The company has submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. FDA for rusfertide, targeting polycythemia vera, which is currently under priority review. Under its collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, Protagonist also anticipates future royalties and additional milestone payments from the commercialization of oral psoriasis therapy Icotyde.