Proteon Therapeutics, Inc. is a developer of pharmaceuticals with offices in Waltham

Waltham, Massachusetts

Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 and Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

.

It is developing PRT-201, a drug to improve blood flow following vascular surgery procedures, and, more broadly, is interested in vascular access for hemodialysis and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). On September 10, 2008, Proteon announced that the Food and Drug Administration had granted fast track status to PRT-201.

Proteon was founded by Dr. F. Nicholas Franano based on technology created at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

. Major investors in the company include MPM Capital

MPM Capital

MPM Capital is a private equity firm focused on venture capital investments in early stage companies across a range of sectors in the health care industry including biotechnology, specialty pharma and medical technology....

, Rockhill Partners

Rockhill Partners

Rockhill Partners is an early-stage venture capital partnership. The firm invests in companies in the life science and technology sectors throughout the U.S. Current investments include Proteon Therapeutics, Orbis Biosciences and Infegy....

, TVM Capital, Skyline Ventures, Prism VentureWorks, Vectis Life Sciences and Intersouth Partners. They have invested over $72 million in the company.

On March 5, 2009, the company announced that it had raised $32 million from its existing investors plus MPM Capital and Vectis Life Sciences. Proteon also announced that it had entered into an option agreement to be acquired by Novartis

Novartis

Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...

for up to $550 million.