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Pharma Tech Outlook | Monday, October 25, 2021
Under the BARDA contract, Paratek Pharmaceuticals has disclosed further funding for the company.
FREMONT, CA: One of the most critical components of drug discovery and development in funding, which must be given at the right time to the pharma company. Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has been awarded an option under the Company’s Project BioShield contract by Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a component of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. This option provides additional funding to support the development of NUZYRA® (omadacycline) following the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Animal Efficacy Rule to support the submission of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to the FDA for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and treatment of pulmonary anthrax. The additional research supported by this option adds about $19 million to the value of the BARDA contract.
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“Our Project BioShield contract creates a comprehensive NUZYRA development program for PEP and treatment of pulmonary anthrax, as described in the original contract,” says Randy Brenner, Chief Development and Regulatory Officer of Paratek. “Paratek has been studying NUZYRA against select biothreat pathogens for over a decade and we are excited to build on the promising in vitro and in vivo animal data and advance the pulmonary anthrax development program for treatment and PEP. This program is particularly important at a time when antimicrobial resistance is both a national security risk as well as a growing threat to global health.”
BARDA and Paratek have formalized their previously stated agreement to initiate the next procurement following receipt of positive top-line data from the pilot effectiveness treatment study of inhalation anthrax in rabbits by BARDA, which Paratek believes will be available in the second part of 2022.
BARDA awarded Paratek a contract for up to roughly $285 million in December 2019. The contract’s value has increased to about $304 million due to the additional development program financing. The contract funds the following: 1) the development of NUZYRA for the treatment and prevention of pulmonary anthrax; 2) all FDA post-marketing requirements associated with the initial approval of NUZYRA; 3) onshoring and manufacturing security requirements in the United States; 4) the procurement of up to 10,000 treatment courses of NUZYRA for anthrax.
Additionally, BARDA and Paratek have agreed on specific development milestones for the third and fourth procurement rounds. The third procurement will be triggered when BARDA receives positive top-line data in PEP and inhalation anthrax treatment from a mix of a pilot and pivotal effectiveness trials in animal models, which Paratek believes will be completely accessible in 2024. The fourth procurement will be triggered when Paratek receives sNDA approval from the FDA for the treatment of anthrax inhalation, which Paratek believes will occur roughly 18-24 months after the third procurement. As the anthrax development program proceeds, Paratek aims to provide additional detail on timescales.
Paratek confirms that, based on its current operational strategy, the company estimates that its cash and cash equivalents will provide a liquidity runway through the end of 2023 and a route to cash flow breakeven.
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