BOSTON, Dec. 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRTK ) has expanded its senior leadership team. The company announced today that Raj Padmanabhan has joined as Vice President, Information Technology (IT). In addition, Judith Steenbergen, Ph.D has joined as Executive Director, Microbiology. Mr. Padmanabhan will be based in Paratek's Boston headquarters. Dr. Steenbergen will be based in the company's Philadelphia offices. Paratek is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies based upon tetracycline chemistry. Its lead compound, omadacycline, is in Phase 3 development.
"These two new hires are important to Paratek's growth. Judith's deep experience in clinical microbiology will be vital as we further define the potential role of omadacycline against multi-drug resistant organisms," said Michael Bigham, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Paratek. "At the same time, Raj's leadership will be critical toward ensuring we have the appropriate technological infrastructure to support our needs as we prepare for the launch and commercialization of omadacycline and continue to expand operational needs in both Boston and Philadelphia."
Raj Padmanabhan
With more than 20 years of experience, Mr. Padmanabhan previously served as Senior Director, IT Architecture, Quality and Processes at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck. During his eight-year tenure at Cubist, Mr. Padmanabhan built Information Technology infrastructure to scale business operations in order to prepare for and accommodate the growth of the business that included launch of two anti-infective products in US and international markets. Mr. Padmanabhan led several leadership task forces to increase productivity and ensure compliance with federal regulations. Prior to Cubist, Mr. Padmanabhan was Associate Director, Business and Integration Service at Biogen where he implemented global systems to support compliance with federal regulations, improve productivity and reduce costs.
"This is a unique opportunity to join a company and provide the necessary support to accommodate anticipated growth," said Mr. Padmanabhan. "I look forward to collaborating with the team and working with them to create innovative and efficient systems that will be required as Paratek moves toward commercialization."
Judith Steenbergen, Ph.D.
Dr. Steenbergen joins Paratek following a distinguished career highlighted by more than a decade in clinical microbiology and antibiotic development, including more than five years of director level management at Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Since the completion of her doctorate at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, she has been involved in all phases of drug development, from investigational new drug application enabling studies through antibiotic approval and commercialization. During her tenure at Cubist, she was directly involved in the development of four anti-infective agents. She has demonstrated the ability to collaborate with research leaders throughout the world and has been recognized as an expert in the clinical microbiology field. While at Cubist, Dr. Steenbergen received internal and external recognition for her contributions, receiving the Cubist Employee of the Year Award and being recognized by the Healthcare Businesswoman's Association Rising Star Award. Most recently, she was instrumental in the clinical development, world-wide regulatory filings, FDA approval, and commercialization of Zerbaxa.
"With omadacycline, Paratek has the opportunity to make a difference in the treatment of bacterial infections and improve the health of patients who present with serious community-acquired infections, especially when resistance is of concern," said Dr. Steenbergen. "I look forward to working with the clinical development team and optimizing the microbiologic potential of omadacycline."
Inducement Stock Options Granted
In addition to personnel moves, on November 30, 2015, Paratek granted stock options to five new non-executive employees of the company pursuant to the company's 2015 Inducement Plan, which was approved by the company's board of directors on February 4, 2015, under Rule 5635(c)(4) of the Nasdaq Global Market for equity grants to new employees as an essential inducement to enter into employment with the company. The stock options are to acquire, in the aggregate, 93,500 shares of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s common stock at a per share exercise price of $20.67, the closing sales price on November 30, 2015, and shall vest over a four year period from the date of grant subject to the employee continuing to remain employed with the company.
About Paratek
Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies based upon its expertise in novel tetracycline chemistry. Paratek's lead product candidate, omadacycline, is the first in a new class of tetracyclines known as aminomethylcyclines, with broad-spectrum activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative and atypical bacteria. Paratek initiated a Phase 3 registration study in ABSSSI in June to determine the efficacy and safety of omadacycline compared to linezolid. A Phase 3 registration study for CABP with omadacycline was initiated in November 2015.
Omadacycline is a new once-daily oral and IV, well-tolerated broad-spectrum antibiotic being developed for use as empiric monotherapy for patients suffering from serious community-acquired bacterial infections, such as acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI), community acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP), urinary tract infections (UTI), and other community-acquired bacterial infections, particularly when antibiotic resistance is of concern to prescribing physicians.
Paratek's second Phase 3 product candidate, sarecycline, is a new once-daily oral tetracycline-derived compound for the potential treatment of acne and rosacea in the community setting. Sarecycline was designed to be a well-tolerated, once-daily, oral, narrow spectrum antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties. Allergan owns the U.S. rights for the development and commercialization of sarecycline. Paratek retains all ex-U.S. rights. Two identical Phase 3 registration studies were initiated by Allergan in December 2014 for sarecycline for the treatment of moderate to severe acne vulgaris.
For more information, visit www.paratekpharm.com .
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