Cubist Settles Key Litigation

Lexington, MA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CBST]]) said late yesterday afternoon that it has settled patent litigation related to its only marketed drug, the antibiotic daptomycin (Cubicin), with Teva Pharmaceutical. The companies’ agreement enables Teva to market a generic version of the antibiotic in the U.S. as early as December 24, 2017 under a license from Cubist, which will also be Teva’s supplier of the product for the U.S. market. Teva has agreed to drop its prior claims that two patents on the Cubist drug were unenforceable. This agreement effectively clears a cloud that has been hanging over Cubist since February 2009, when the company announced that Teva had informed the company that it was pursuing approval of a generic version of its key antibiotic product years ahead of when patents on the drug were due to expire.

Author: Ryan McBride

Ryan is an award-winning business journalist who contributes to our life sciences and technology coverage. He was previously a staff writer for Mass High Tech, a Boston business and technology newspaper, where he and his colleagues won a national business journalism award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2008. In recent years, he has made regular TV appearances on New England Cable News. Prior to MHT, Ryan covered the life sciences, technology, and energy sectors for Providence Business News. He graduated with honors from the University of Rhode Island in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. When he’s not chasing down news, Ryan enjoys mountain biking and skiing in his home state of Vermont.