Paratek Pharmaceuticals Announces Research Collaboration With Glaxo Wellcome; To Discover and Develop Novel Antibiotics Targeting Multi-drug Resistance

Business Wire, July 28, 1999

BOSTON--(BW HealthWire)--July 27, 1999--

Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company, announced today a collaboration with pharmaceutical company Glaxo Wellcome plc (NYSE:GLX), to develop and commercialize new antibiotics targeting the growing health threat of multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria.

The agreement, which includes equity investment, research support, milestone payments, and royalties, could provide a healthy multi-million dollar revenue stream for Paratek if a medicine is successfully discovered and marketed.

The annual worldwide market for antimicrobial drug products has been estimated at approximately $23 billion and represents one of the top therapeutic categories for pharmaceutical sales. The emergence of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria is creating a rising threat to public health. In this past year bacteria resistant to all antibiotics, including vancomycin and fluoroquinolones, have begun to appear in hospital infections around the world. The antibiotics to be generated through this collaboration are designed to overcome the drug resistance mechanisms so that they can be used to treat both drug resistant and susceptible bacteria. Any new product -- produced from a new family of tetracycline derivatives -- will initially focus on nosocomial (hospital acquired) infections by bacteria resistant to all existing late-stage anti-microbial therapies . This would include bacteria such as those resistant to vancomycin therapy, that threaten the lives of hospitalized patients, especially those in intensive care units or those with compromised immune systems.

"It is well known that antibiotic resistance is a major problem in the battle against bacterial infection. Our collaboration with Paratek will use our combined expertise to develop a novel approach," said James Niedel, executive director of science and technology at Glaxo Wellcome. "Our involvement in this program represents our commitment to this growing public health concern and our determination to bring the next generation of antibiotics to medicine," he added.

Stuart B. Levy, M.D., President and CSO of Paratek, hailed the collaboration as a powerful combination of knowledge, skills and experience. "Paratek's substantial research portfolio in the creation of novel tetracycline derivatives, combined with GlaxoWellcome's strength and experience in microbiology, combinatorial chemistry, and drug development, creates a major opportunity to develop much needed new anti-infective agents. Paratek has modified the tetracycline molecule, taking a clinically proven antibiotic with a low risk profile, to make it effective against tetracycline resistant, and multi-drug resistant, bacteria. This new family of tetracyclines will yield a variety of antibacterial profiles." He continued, "We are delighted to have the partnership of such a significant collaborator to develop this major commercial endeavor."

Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc, located in Boston, is engaged in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics that treat multi-antibiotic resistant infectious disease agents. Paratek was founded two years ago by Dr. Stuart B. Levy, Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and by Dr. Walter Gilbert, Professor at Harvard University, Nobel Prize Laureate, and co-founder and former CEO of Biogen, Inc. Paratek was created to harness the 20 years of research and discovery in mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and tetracycline chemistry by Dr. Levy and his scientific team at Tufts University School of Medicine.

GlaxoWellcome, headquartered in Middlesex, England, is a research-based pharmaceutical company whose people are committed to fighting disease by bringing innovative medicines and services to patients throughout the world and to the healthcare providers that serve them.

This news release contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the timing and results of clinical trials and other product development and commercialization risks, the risks of satisfying the regulatory approval process in a timely manner, the need for and availability of additional capital, and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.