Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTK) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Adam Woodrow: So I mentioned, obviously, the early traction we’re seeing with the hospital, with the community expansion. That’s really a function more of the fact that we now have more representatives on the ground. We’ve gone into new territories, and in some cases, what we’ve done is we’ve divided up profitable territories into two because they’ve got a great deal of potential. And as a consequence, that’s why you’re seeing that acceleration that’s going on in the prescriptions and prescription days of therapy with the primary care field force. I also obviously mentioned the encouraging trends that we’ve seen in the hospital, and I put those, obviously, in my prepared remarks. We think that that’s actually a function of staffing conditions in the hospitals, along with improved patient flow in addition to the data I’ve shown.

I’m pleased to report that we are actually seeing these improving trends continue, actually not just in the back end of the last quarter, but they seem to have carried over into the second quarter. And while it’s too early to comment on whether we think these trends are sustainable through 2023, we are encouraged with the progress that we’ve seen to date.

Thomas Yip: Great. Thank you for the additional details. And then perhaps somewhat of a financial question. Previously you mentioned there’s a path to reaching a breakeven point. Is that still a long term goal, and can you outline some major factors in order to achieve that goal?

Evan Loh: Yes, look, I think that when we look at our business, we continue to remain extremely pleased with our current upward trajectory in terms of our core commercial business. We feel very confident in our full year guidance, and we’re able today to reiterate that guidance with approximately 25% to 35% year-over-year growth projected for this year. As we think about our business, we see operational efficiencies and opportunities here to consider places where we could be more efficient. And we do think that that’s absolutely core to our ability to create a path to profitability, and we are very focused on that currently. And as you can see, we’ve already begun those efforts with our projected $20 million in year-over-year savings compared to an annualized fourth quarter of 2022 carry forward expense run rate.

Operator: And our next question is from the line of Julian Harrison with BTIG.

Julian Harrison: Hi. Thank you for taking my questions. First, on the heels of the ECCMID conference last month, wondering if you could talk a little more about the feedback you’ve been receiving from the medical community on NUZYRA’s potential role in treating NTM infections. And then you’ve been very clear on your guidance to a Japan deal for NUZYRA by the end of this year. I guess I’m wondering if South Korea rights would likely be a separate transaction, and if so, when could we maybe expect that to materialize?

Evan Loh: Yes. So, Julian, it’s Evan, thank you for the question. I’ll take the second question first, and then I’ll hand it over to Randy to talk about NTM. Your question around South Korea is an interesting one because when you look at the total addressable market in Japan, it’s actually fairly comparable to what we actually see in South Korea as well, we would prefer to have a partner that could actually oversee and develop and commercialize the product in Japan and South Korea. Currently, though, our inbound interest has been more for Japan being the focus. That being said, we do actually, in terms of our nonbinding indicative interests, have had some of these potential partners actually express interest in South Korea as well.