Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated the company's late-stage antibiotic candidate, ceftolozane/tazobactam, as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) for the indications of Hospital-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (HABP)/Ventilator-Associated Bacterial Pneumonia (VABP) and Complicated Urinary Tract Infections (cUTI).
Additionally, the company received from the FDA notification that Cubist's antibiotic candidates, ceftolozane/tazobactam and surotomycin, have been granted Fast Track status in their previously granted QIDP indications, Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infections (cIAI) and Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea (CDAD) respectively.
"We are excited to receive the QIDP and Fast Track designations for ceftolozane/tazobactam and surotomycin, which further reinforce the importance the FDA places on helping to advance critically needed antibiotics," said Steven Gilman, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer of Cubist Pharmaceuticals. "In a very short period of time, the GAIN Act has shown its value in helping to incentivize antibiotic development."