July 14, 2009 (FinancialWire) — Specialty pharmaceutical firm Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRTX) said it has signed a definitive asset purchase agreement with Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: OSCI) to acquire the commercial rights to the antibiotic Factive in North America and certain countries in Europe.

The closing of the deal is subject to the approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, where Oscient filed its voluntary petition for Chapter 11 relief on July 13.

It is also conditioned on the conduct of a bankruptcy court supervised auction process in which Oscient will seek competing bids to achieve the highest price possible for the Factive assets.

Cornerstone said that the auction process will be completed and the bankruptcy court will render its decision within the next sixty days.

Factive is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic approved for the treatment of acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis and community-acquired pneumonia of mild to moderate severity.

Around 1.1 million prescriptions have been dispensed for Factive since its launch. In 2008, Factive generated around $16 million in net revenues, according to the company.

Cary, North Carolina-based Cornerstone Therapeutics is focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing products primarily for the respiratory and related markets.

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