2008-12-02 19:03:01 -

www.cubist.com - Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) today announced that Santosh J. Vetticaden, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Vetticaden will be a member of Cubist"s executive team and report to Mike Bonney, Cubist"s President and CEO. Dr. Vetticaden will lead the development and implementation of clinical

strategy for Cubist"s clinical programs, while managing and developing Clinical Research, Medical Affairs, Clinical Operations, Statistics and Data Management, and Pharmacovigilance.
Dr. Vetticaden has more than 22 years of experience as a researcher and medical professional. He has been consulting since leaving his position as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Maxygen, which he held from February 2007 to August 2008. Before that, from April 2003 to February 2007, he was Vice President, Clinical Research, at Scios, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and was responsible for all development for Phases I through IV trials. From 2000 to 2003, Dr. Vetticaden was Senior Director, Global Project Team Leader, Cardiovascular, at Aventis Pharmaceuticals (now Sanofi-Aventis). From 1997 to 2000, Dr. Vetticaden was Director, Clinical Research, in the Whitehall-Robins Healthcare Division of American Home Products. He took a break from industry between 1991 and 1997 to pursue a medical degree and complete his residency in internal medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. Earlier in his career, from 1986 to 1991, Dr. Vetticaden worked at Biopharmaceutics Research Enterprises /International Drug Registration, Inc.
Cubist President and CEO Mike Bonney said of the selection: "We are fortunate to have found in Dr. Vetticaden a gifted drug developer, clinician, and leader, who will be able to provide substantive contributions immediately. All of his skills will be called upon early and often as Cubist continues to grow."
About Cubist
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products that address unmet medical needs in the acute care environment. In the U.S., Cubist markets CUBICIN® (daptomycin for injection), the first antibiotic in a new class of anti-infectives called lipopeptides. Cubist has entered into an agreement with AstraZeneca to handle U.S. hospital sales for their established broad spectrum antibiotic, MERREM I.V.® (meropenem for injection). The Cubist product pipeline includes ecallantide, a recombinant human protein in Phase 2 clinical trials for the prevention of blood loss during cardiothoracic surgery, and pre-clinical programs that address unmet medical needs in Gram-negative infections, CDAD (Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea), and HCV (Hepatitis C infections). Cubist is headquartered in Lexington, MA. Additional information can be found at Cubist"s web site at www.cubist.com.
Cubist and CUBICIN are registered trademarks of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc.


Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Eileen C. McIntyre, 781-860-8533

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

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Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.

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