LEXINGTON, Mass. - Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently announced that it acquired Illumigen Biosciences pursuant to a definitive agreement and plan of merger entered into on December 24, 2007.

 

Illumigen's lead compound is IB657, a protein therapeutic in pre-clinical development for the treatment of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infections. Cubist expects that an IND for IB657 will be filed in 2008.

 

Under terms of the deal, Cubist will pay to the Illumigen stockholders $9 million in cash and Illumigen has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cubist. Cubist will make payments during the development of IB657 as a therapy for HCV infections of up to $75.5 Million upon achieving certain development and regulatory milestones. If Cubist develops Illumigen products for the treatment of viruses other than HCV, development and regulatory milestone payments of up to $117 Million could apply. Assuming that HCV or other Illumigen antiviral products are commercialized, additional milestone payments of up to $140 Million, as well as tiered royalties, could apply.

 

"We are excited about the opportunity of filing an IND for IB657 in the coming year and advancing it into the clinic," says Mike Bonney, president and CEO of Cubist Pharmaceuticals. "An HCV product candidate is an important addition to our pipeline, and leverages our antiinfective development, regulatory, and commercialization expertise."

 

"We believe that Cubist is ideally positioned to exploit the immediate opportunity for IB657 against HCV, and potentially for additional viral infections," adds Donald Elmer, chairman of Illumigen Biosciences. 

 

No financing will be necessary to complete the acquisition of Illumigen or to fund the development of IB657. The impact of any charges related to purchase accounting, including in-process R&D, will be recorded in Cubist's 2007 full-year results.