For the option, Cubist will pay $4.7 million and also will pay approximately $1 million for Illumigen’s operating costs during the option period and for an IND-enabling study of Illumigen’s compound, IB657.
IB657 is a protein therapeutic in late-stage pre-clinical development as an interferon replacement product for the treatment of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.
Mike Bonney, president and CEO of Cubist, said: “This option provides us with an opportunity to immediately leverage our antiinfective development and regulatory expertise. The unmet medical need which IB657 would address represents a substantial market opportunity. If we exercise our option, adding an HCV compound will be an important step as we develop a pipeline behind our successful IV antibiotic CUBICIN.”