Novartis/Paratek Pharmaceuticals – Top 10 biotech deal terminations of 2011

Posted under Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Novartis, Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Universities, Videos by John Carroll

Partners: Novartis/Paratek Pharmaceuticals
Based: $NVS - Basel, Switzerland; Paratek - Boston
Termination date: July 2011
Length: 1.8 years
Deal: $485 million
Program: The late-stage PTK 0796, a wide-spectrum antibiotic

What went wrong: In 2009, some analysts were giving PTK 0796--a wide-spectrum, single-dose antibiotic in Phase III--a big thumb's up as a potential blockbuster earner. Last summer, though, the value looked more like zero to Novartis.

Founded in 1996 by Tufts professor Stuart Levy and Harvard's Dr. Walter Gilbert, Paratek managed to raise $40 million in private financing from Aisling Capital, the D.E. Shaw group, Boston Life Science Venture Corporation, Nomura Phase4 Ventures, Novartis BioVentures, BioFund Ventures, HBM BioVentures, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, BioVeda Fund and Hercules Technology Growth Capital.

Exactly what happened with this program remains a mystery, though, as Paratek officials failed to return calls from FierceBiotech. There's no word of the termination on their Web site, and little to indicate what's going on at the biotech.