Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. has agreed to pay up to $780 million in up-front, milestone payments and R&D funding for exclusive rights to antiviral conjugates to be developed by Cidara Therapeutics Inc. for the prevention and treatment of seasonal and pandemic influenza.
There are millions of fungal species, but it appears only a few hundred of them cause serious fungal infections that are responsible for an estimated 1.5 million deaths globally each year and are equally as dangerous as bacterial and viral infections. Last week, the U.S. CDC pointed the spotlight on this situation with its Fungal Disease Awareness Week.
The public attention that COVID-19 has received has spilled over to antibiotics companies, and the BioWorld Infectious Diseases index has grown 14% in value since the beginning of the year.
Shares of San Diego-based Cidara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) enjoyed a skyward ride, closing Tuesday at $2.35, up 67 cents, or 40%, on word of a deal with Mundipharma International Ltd., of Cambridge, U.K., to develop and commercialize rezafungin for invasive fungal infections. "Historically, [antifungal] pricing has been much stronger in the EU, so that is an important opportunity for us and now for Mundipharma as well," Cidara CEO Jeffrey Stein said.
