Company reinforces its commitment to global public health with more investment in antibiotic R&D than any company worldwide
Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S. and Zurich, Switzerland, September 18, 2014 –With resistant bacterial infections resulting in an estimated 25,000 deaths in the European Union and 23,000 deaths in the United States annually, the issues of rising antibiotic resistance and the lack of treatment options have raised alarms with world leaders. As the call to action grows louder, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(NASDAQ: CBST), the global leader in the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel antibiotics, today announced the official opening of its international headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, reinforcing its commitment to global public health. Located in a growing biopharmaceutical hub in Switzerland, the Company's international operations complement the Cubist's corporate headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts in the United States.
To address the urgent need for new antibiotics, during 2014 Cubist expects to invest approximately USD 400M on antibiotic R&D, and is focusing its late-stage pipeline on addressing serious and potentially life-threatening healthcare-acquired bacterial infections. Led by Patrick Vink, M.D., Senior Vice President and General Manager of International Business at Cubist, the Company's international operations will focus on preparing for the launch of potential new antibiotics in Europe during 2015.
"Dangerous superbugs know no geographic boundaries. Cubist has never been more committed—nor better positioned—to lead the battle against superbugs. We are one of the few companies globally to take on the challenge of antibiotic resistance, and this expansion enables us to continue to address the growing medical need," said Dr. Vink. "We selected Zurich for the location of our international headquarters due to its proximity to other markets, access to top talent, and stable business climate, as well as its position as a thriving and growing biopharmaceutical hub."
Bruno Sauter, Deputy Minister of Department of Economy and Labour of the Canton of Zurich, commented: "I am excited to welcome Cubist to Zurich, and look forward to the Company's support of our commitment to create jobs and grow our innovation economy, including in the healthcare area. Cubist's focus on the vital need to provide doctors and patients with new medicines to treat serious and potentially life-threatening infections is a great example of the type of mission-driven organizations we aim to attract to and nurture here in Zurich."
Cubist's international expansion follows its strong performance in 2013, when the Company generated full year total net revenues of USD 1.1 billion. Cubist has increased its global employee base to approximately 960, up 35% from 2012, when the Company introduced the Building Blocks of Growth, its five-year strategic goals. Approximately 3 out of every 4 employees at Cubist are focused on the research, development, commercialization, and support of antibiotics. The Company anticipates a significant employee presence internationally, and expects to have around 200 internationally-based employees, of which approximately 50 will be based in Zurich. Cubist is focused on creating new jobs in Zurich and throughout Switzerland, including in medical, regulatory, and commercial capacities, as well as other support functions.
About Cubist
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products that address significant unmet medical needs in the acute care environment. Cubist's corporate headquarters is located in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States with its international headquarters located in Zurich, Switzerland. Additional information can be found on the Company's web sites: www.cubist.com and www.cubist.ch. Also, connect with Cubist on Twitter @cubistbiopharma and @cubistcareers,LinkedIn, or YouTube.
To learn more about superbugs, the threat of resistance, and the global response visit: http://www.cubist.com/superbugs.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained herein which do not describe historical facts, including but not limited to, statements regarding: our plans to expand internationally, including our international hiring estimates, commitment to global public health and ability to address the global battle against superbugs; our Building Blocks of Growth five-year goals through 2017; the level of our financial and personnel commitments towards antibiotic research, development and commercialization; expected timing for our launching potential new antibiotics in Europe; our commitment and ability to lead the battle against superbugs; and the therapeutic potential of our antibiotic product candidates, are forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others: risks related to drug development and commercialization; our ability to achieve our strategic goals, including as a result of our ability to continue to grow revenues from the sale of our products, generic and other competition, manufacturing issues, our ability to successfully develop, gain marketing approval for and commercially launch our product candidates for their planned indications and on their expected timelines, and our ability to discover, in-license or acquire new products and product candidates; regulatory developments in Europe and other countries, including the risk that the European Commission may not approve our marketing authorization applications; the strength of, and our ability to successfully obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protecting our products and product candidates; the fact that drug discovery and development is complex, time consuming, expensive and fraught with a high risk of failure; and those additional factors discussed in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements.
Contacts:
INVESTORS:
Eileen C. McIntyre
Vice President, Investor Relations
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
+1-781-860-8533
MEDA:
Julie DiCarlo
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
+1-781-860-8063
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