Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the company’s Phase 2b study evaluating the safety and efficacy of NUZYRA® (omadacycline) for the treatment for nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) pulmonary disease caused by Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABc), a rare disease for which there is no FDA-approved therapy. Pulmonary infections caused by MABc affect approximately 11,500 patients in the United States. Patients have a myriad of symptoms including severe fatigue, fever, cough and shortness of breath. The standard of care typically involves a combination of multiple antibiotics not approved for this disease, which can often be life-long in duration and complicated by long-term tolerability challenges and multiple adverse events. The Phase 2b study is a placebo-controlled, randomized monotherapy study of Mycobacterium abscessus pulmonary disease in patients who are not receiving other treatments. The U.S.-based study will enroll approximately 75 subjects, randomized in a 1.5 to 1 ratio. The primary study endpoints are improvement in symptoms and safety and tolerability following 12 weeks of treatment. Due to the small numbers of patients with this rare disease, Paratek expects the study will take about two years to complete enrollment.