Bayer and Paratek Pharmaceuticals Present New Data on First Antibiotic in New Class, Aminomethylcyclines (AMCs), at 14th Annual ECCMID Pre-Clinical Data Reveals Potent Activity Against Wide Range of Clinically Prevalent Bacteria LEVERKUSEN, Germany and BOSTON, May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bayer AG, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation (USA), and Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today new pre-clinical data detailing potent in vivo and in vitro activity of the lead compound in a new class of antibiotics, called aminomethylcyclines (AMCs). BAY 73-7388, which was discovered by Paratek as PTK 0796, is a novel, semi-synthetic antibiotic compound for IV use, and is currently being studied to target a wide range of clinically prevalent infections, including those caused by Gram-positive, Gram-negative, atypical and anaerobic bacteria, and those with multi-drug resistance. Additionally, pre-clinical research has shown that the compound did not demonstrate cross-resistance to currently available agents. The compound is the first in the AMC class to be selected for development. The class was designed using innovative proprietary medicinal chemistry to specifically address the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in the clinical setting. A joint team of Bayer and Paratek scientists presented data demonstrating the compound's in vitro activity against resistant bacteria and efficacy in animal models at the 14th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Prague, Czech Republic. Seven studies were presented at the meeting, including: * "Activity of BAY 73-7388, a Novel Aminomethylcycline, and Other Antibiotic Classes Against Resistance Bacteria In Vitro," Poster 925 * "Potent Activity of BAY 73-7388, a Novel Aminomethylcycline, Against Susceptible and Resistant Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Organisms," Poster 926 * "BAY 73-7388, a Novel Aminomethylcycline, Exhibits Potent Efficacy in Pulmonary Murine Models of Infection," Poster 927 * "BAY 73-7388 Is Highly Efficacious in Animal Models of Intra-Abdominal Infections Caused by a Range of Aerobic and Anaerobic Organisms, Including VRE," Poster 928 * "BAY 73-7388 Demonstrates Greater Activity Than Linezolid in a Range of Murine Models of Skin and Soft Tissue Infection," Poster 929 * "Superior Efficacy of BAY 73-7388, a Novel Aminomethylcycline, Compared with Linezolid and Vancomycin in Murine Sepsis Caused by Susceptible or Multiresistant Staphylococci," Poster 930 * "BAY 73-7388, a Novel Aminomethylcycline, is Highly Active In Vivo in a Murine Model of Pneumococcal Pneumonia," Poster 931 "Bayer has a long history in the research of anti-infective therapies and is committed to developing antibiotics that are active against both resistant and non-resistant bacteria," said Martin Springsklee, Vice-President, Therapy Area Anti-Infectives, Product Development, Bayer Healthcare. "Pre-clinical studies have shown that BAY 73-7388 demonstrated potent in vitro activity against a wide range of clinical isolates. Additionally, the compound shows no cross-resistance to currently available classes of antibiotics. BAY 73-7388 shows great promise as a developmental candidate from a new antibiotic class to be investigated for treatment of patients who would otherwise have increasingly limited treatment options." Stuart B. Levy, M.D., Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, explained, "Infections in hospitals are becoming increasingly difficult to treat, in large part because of rising bacterial resistance, and novel agents from new classes are needed. Designed as the lead compound in a new class, BAY 73-7388 has demonstrated broad activity against a wide variety of important resistant Gram-positive, Gram-negative, atypical and anaerobic bacteria. With such a spectrum, BAY 73-7388 has the potential to address clear needs in the clinical setting." Bayer and Paratek signed a Collaborative Development and License Agreement in August 2003 for the development of the novel aminomethylcycline antibiotic BAY 73-7388/PTK 0796. About Bayer HealthCare Bayer HealthCare is part of the worldwide operations of Bayer, a subgroup of Bayer AG. Bayer HealthCare is one of the world's leading innovators in the health care and medical products industry. Bayer HealthCare combines the global activities of the business groups of Bayer AG in the fields of Biological Products, Consumer Care, Diagnostics, Animal Health and Pharmaceuticals. More than 34,000 employees support the worldwide operations of Bayer HealthCare. The work at Bayer HealthCare is to discover and manufacture innovative products for the purpose of improving human and animal health worldwide. The products enhance well-being and quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating disease. 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 many gram-negative bacteria by interfering with Multiple Adaptational Response (MAR) mechanisms in bacteria. Out of these efforts, Paratek has discovered a new class of antibiotics, the aminomethylcyclines (including BAY 73-7388) that target the need for new and potent antibacterials to overcome the problem of rapidly growing bacterial resistance. Outside the antibacterial therapeutic area, Paratek has also established an internal effort to exploit its novel family of compounds and their unique mechanism of action in selected anti-inflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions. Paratek has an active SAR driven chemical synthesis effort within this family of compounds 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/. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in our public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Form 20-F). The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments. DATASOURCE: Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals; Paratek Pharmaceuticals CONTACT: Mark Bennett, +1-203-812-2160, , or Helmut Schaefers, +49-214-30-58308, , both of Bayer; or Kate Boxmeyer of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-617-275-0040 x238, ; or Justin Jackson, +1-212-213-0006 x27, , for Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; On-site at ECCMID: Eileen Crowley, +1-646-732-6855, or Sylvia Leibner, +49-177-731-6183, both for Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation; or Ken Tanaka, Ph.D of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-617-407-6372 Web site: http://www.paratekpharm.com/

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