Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc has launched a registry program branded Core, or Cubicin Outcomes Registry & Experience. Cubicin (daptomycin for injection), a first in class bactericidal antibiotic, was launched in the U.S. by Cubist in late 2003 for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by certain Gram-positive organisms. Cubicin is currently the only once-daily bactericidal antibiotic proven effective against both methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and MSSA).

Debra Goff, Clinical Associate Professor and Infectious Diseases Specialist at The Ohio State University Medical Center, commented on the launch of Core: "Over the past several years, mortality rates and costs associated with the treatment of serious Gram-positive infections have risen dramatically, particularly as a result of infections caused by resistant organisms. With the creation of Core, Cubist is helping supply valuable data to the clinical community--data that not only tracks relationships between patient demographics and clinical characteristics, but also provides outcomes data and allows sites to learn from the experiences of other participants in Core. More importantly, Core is expected to provide comparative data that may improve patient management strategies and quality improvement initiatives."

Core is a retrospective, longitudinal, multicenter registry program designed to collect information on patients who have received Cubicin therapy. Cubist expects to enroll 40 sites in the U.S. by the end of 2004. By facilitating the benchmarking of regional data against national trends, the registry is intended to improve information flow on the standards of care for patients treated for serious Gram-positive bacterial infections. Data from the registry will be published as it becomes available.