FDA APPROVES CUBICIN FOR STAPH INFECTIONS

The FDA has approved Cubicin (daptomycin) to combat heart and bloodstream infections brought on by Staphylococcus bacteria, or staph infections. The drug is manufactured by Cubist Pharmaceuticals and was originally approved in 2003 for treating skin infections.

Clinical trials demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of the drug in treating bloodstream and heart infections brought on by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which cause as many as 2 million infections and 90,000 deaths per year around the world.

Trial findings were published in the Aug. 17 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.