Paratek Pharmaceuticals Presents Multiple Sclerosis Data at Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting

    BOSTON, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced
 results of preclinical studies demonstrating that a new class of compounds,
 orally available non-antibacterial tetracyclines, has shown promising activity
 in a preclinical animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS).  Affecting
 approximately two million people worldwide, MS is a chronic, inflammatory
 condition of the nervous system and the most common non-traumatic neurological
 disease in young adults.  Dr. David McKenney, a Paratek scientist, will
 present the findings during an oral presentation at 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m.
 EST) today at Neuroscience 2004, the Society for Neuroscience's 34th Annual
 Meeting in San Diego.
     For the first time, Paratek is presenting data showing that its non-
 antibacterial tetracycline compounds in a preclinical model of MS have
 efficacy comparable to minocycline, an antibiotic also in the tetracycline
 family.  A previous clinical study directed by Dr. Luanne Metz at the
 University of Calgary has demonstrated disease protection in MS patients
 treated with minocycline.  Unfortunately, long-term treatment with minocycline
 or any other broad-spectrum antibiotic causes many patients to experience
 intolerability related to antibiotic side effects.  In today's presentation,
 Paratek will report that three non-antibacterial tetracycline compounds, with
 different structures, demonstrated activity in reducing limb paralysis in the
 preclinical EAE (Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis) model of MS.
 These compounds have no detectable antibacterial activity.
     Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Serono (NYSE:   SRA; virt-x: SEO)
 announced today that they have entered into an agreement to discover, develop
 and commercialize an orally available disease-modifying treatment for multiple
 sclerosis (MS).  The agreement covers the compounds for which Dr. McKenney
 presents data today.
     Stuart Levy, Paratek's Vice Chairman, Chief Scientific Officer and
 Co-Founder, commented, "The clinical research community has long regarded a
 pill for MS as an ultimate goal, but so far attempts to develop a safe,
 feasible, orally available drug candidate have failed.  Our team has
 successfully modified the tetracycline molecule, keeping the core structure
 that confers anti-MS activity while removing portions of the molecule with
 antibacterial effects. This represents an exciting advance not only for MS,
 but potentially for many other inflammation-related disease areas."
     Dr. Michael Draper, Associate Director at Paratek, stated, "Paratek has
 developed world-class expertise in modifying the tetracycline class, which has
 a 30-year track record in the marketplace and a favorable, well-documented
 safety profile.  This new, proprietary class of non-antibacterial tetracycline
 compounds will avoid the negative consequences associated with long-term
 antibiotic use and will not further contribute to the development of
 antibiotic resistance.  We believe that these highly active, orally available
 compounds will also prove to be well tolerated for MS, and we are very proud
 of this accomplishment."
 
     About Multiple Sclerosis
     Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, inflammatory condition of the nervous
 system and is the most common non-traumatic neurological disease in young
 adults. Multiple sclerosis may affect approximately two million people
 worldwide. While symptoms can vary, the most common symptoms of multiple
 sclerosis include blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the limbs and
 problems with strength and coordination. The relapsing forms of multiple
 sclerosis are the most common.
 
     About Paratek Pharmaceuticals
     Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is engaged in the discovery and
 commercialization of new therapeutics that treat serious and life-threatening
 diseases, with a particular focus on the growing worldwide problem of
 antibiotic resistance.  Paratek's lead programs are advancing novel compounds
 that can circumvent or block bacterial resistance, as well as drugs that can
 prevent infection by interfering with Multiple Adaptational Response (MAR)
 mechanisms in bacteria.  Out of these efforts, Paratek has discovered a new
 class of antibiotics, the aminomethylcyclines that target the need for new and
 potent antibacterials to overcome the problem of rapidly growing bacterial
 resistance.  The Company's lead antibiotic clinical candidate, BAY 73-7388,
 the first product from this class, is being developed in a collaborative
 partnership with Bayer HealthCare AG for the treatment of serious infections.
     Outside the antibacterial therapeutic area, Paratek has also established
 an internal effort to exploit its novel families of compounds and their unique
 mechanism of action in selected anti-inflammatory and neurodegenerative
 conditions.  Paratek has an active chemical synthesis effort to produce novel
 and diverse small molecules, with the goal of developing non-antibacterial
 products with improved activity in serious diseases based upon a growing body
 of clinical and basic research supporting this approach.
     Paratek is privately held and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
 For more information, visit Paratek's website at http://www.paratekpharm.com.
 
 

SOURCE  Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.