Cubist earnings, powered by Cubicin, take markets by surprise

Cubist Pharmaceuticals ($CBST) turned in an earning report that surprised analysts today, powered by a 20% jump in sales of its lead drug, antibiotic Cubicin. Total revenue for the second quarter was $231 million, up 30%. Of that, Cubicin made up $212 million, Reuters reports. Cubist's net income was just $43.1 million, but that adds up to 58 cents per share, compared with a loss of $20.6 million, or 34 cents a share, in the quarter a year earlier. Shares of the Lexington, MA-based company were up as much as 5% in extended trading Thursday. Cubist executives are probably not surprised. Last month they laid out a 5-year program in which they said they expect to ride a wave of drug-resistant infections to $2 billion in sales by 2017. The company said Cubicin, targeted at difficult-to-treat skin and bloodstream infections, will account for at least half of those sales. Story | More