Dyax, Cubist Ink R&D Deal for Blood-Loss Drug

Dyax (DYAX Quote - Cramer on DYAX - Stock Picks) and fellow biopharmaceutical company Cubist(CBST Quote - Cramer on CBST - Stock Picks) said Thursday that they signed a development and commercialization agreement for the intravenous version of DX-88, a preventive treatment for blood loss during surgery, in North America and Europe.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Dyax's DX-88 is a recombinant form of a small protein. Dyax will receive $15 million upfront, $2.5 million in a milestone payment in 2008 and up to $214 in clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones in the future.

Cubist will cover the costs of development in the licensed indications. In other indications, such as angiodemas, Dyax will retain its exclusive rights to DX-88.

Separately, Dyax gave its quarterly results on Thursday. The company reported a loss of $21.3 million, or 35 cents a share, vs. a loss of $20 million, or 44 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue remained flat at $2.6 million.

Dyax shares were down 14 cents, or 3.3%, at $4.06 in recent trading. Thursday, while Cubist was trading down 17 cents, or 0.9%, at $20.86.

Dyax also partners with Sanofi-Aventis (SNY Quote - Cramer on SNY - Stock Picks) in another R&D deal. Shares of Sanofi were trading down 29 cents, or 0.7%, at $39.16. Among Dyax's competitors in the biotech space, Inspire Pharmaceuticals (ISPH Quote - Cramer on ISPH - Stock Picks) was trading down 0.9% at $3.50, and Invitrogen (IVGN Quote - Cramer on IVGN - Stock Picks) was 2% lower at $91.70.