Cubist green lights Ph3 program against lethal diarrhea

Cubist Pharmaceuticals isn't giving up on its drug against diarrhea caused by C. difficile. After saying in June it wasn't sure whether to continue development of the drug, the Lexington, MA-based developer ($CBST) made known yesterday that Phase III development of CB-183,315 will kick off in the first half of 2012. This is a market that Cubist should know pretty well. Beyond developing an antibiotic for the life-threatening diarrhea brought on by C. diff, the company is assisting with U.S. sales of Optimer Pharmaceuticals' ($OPTR) Dificid, which was approved this spring for the same condition. Article