July 9, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=ftrdnwswnd for all of today’s featured news.) — Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTR) said it has received a $500,000 milestone payment from Cempra Pharmaceuticals, Inc. under the terms of a licensing agreement between the companies. The milestone payment was made as a result of Cempra's continuing development of a next-generation macrolide (CEM-101) for the treatment of respiratory infections.

Cempra licensed CEM-101 from Optimer and has completed a Phase 1 study.

CEM-101 is an oral macrolide entering Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. Cempra has exclusive worldwide rights, except in Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, countries, from Optimer to discover, develop and commercialize macrolides from a library of more than 500 compounds, including CEM-101, originated from Optimer's OPopS drug discovery platform.

According to Optimer, in vitro and in vivo studies of CEM-101 have shown potent activity against S. pneumoniae as well as an extended spectrum of activity against community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureaus (CA-MRSA), M. avium and in animal models of malaria.

These studies have also indicated that CEM-101 is active against atypical bacteria, such as Legionella, Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma and against gonococci and other organisms that cause genitourinary tract infections.

California-based Optimer Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing anti-infectives to treat serious infections and address unmet medical needs.

Optimer has two late-stage anti-infective product candidates under development. Fidaxomicin is a narrow spectrum antibiotic being developed for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Pruvel is a prodrug in the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics being developed as a treatment for infectious diarrhea. Optimer has also completed two Phase 3 trials with Pruvel. 

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