Telavancin disappoints, Cubist shares rise

USA-based Theravance reported disappointing Ph III trial results for telavancin, its rapidly bactericidal injectable antibiotic for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) caused by Gram-positive bacteria. In the ATLAS I and ATLAS II studies, the agent achieved its primary endpoint of non-inferiority, achieving a numerically better clinical cure rate versus vancomycin, but failed to meet the secondary endpoint of treating more complicated infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

On August 23, the day after Theravance announced the trial results, shares in its competitor, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, rose 7.5% to close at $23.93. Shares in Theravance fell $0.28 closing at $25. Industry observers believed that telavancin could threaten sales of Cubist's approved antibiotic Cubicin (daptomycin), which is indicated in the USA for the treatment of complicated cSSSI caused by gram-positive bacteria including MRSA, as well as S. aureus bloodstream infections.