Hydra Biosciences and Cubist Form Collaboration to Develop Novel Ion Channel Drugs for Pain Management

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(Business Wire)--
Hydra Biosciences today announced that they have entered into an agreement with
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) for a joint collaboration to develop
novel ion channel drugs. The deal focuses on Hydra`s research and development
program for ion channel compounds that target the TRPA1 receptor, which is
believed to have an important role in pain management.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hydra receives an upfront payment of $5
million from Cubist. The agreement allows for Cubist to support Hydra`s internal
development on the TRPA1 program by providing $5M in research and development
funding per year for two years, with an option to renew. The joint development
program will build on the existing R&D base of Hydra`s TRPA1 compounds,
preclinical data, and pharmacology studies. As the collaboration progresses into
potential future stages, Hydra is eligible for potential development milestones
and royalties on products produced from the joint program. The goal of the
program is to identify TRPA1 drug candidates for use as acute care therapeutics
for the management of pain.

"As we continue to build an acute care pipeline, we are excited to develop a
partnership with Hydra that provides us access to a novel platform for
developing acute care therapeutics for the management of pain," said Steven
Gilman, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Cubist Pharmaceuticals.

"We are pleased to collaborate with Cubist and to advance innovative drug
candidates using our ion channel platform," said Russell Herndon, Chief
Executive Officer of Hydra Biosciences. "While our platform has potentially
broad applications in the treatment of pain, inflammation, cardiovascular and
other diseases, this collaboration is a step forward in advancing our pipeline
for novel ion channel drugs for pain management."

About Ion Channels

Aberrant ion channel activity has been implicated in many diseases, including
hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, gastrointestinal disorders, cystic fibrosis
and pathological pain. Many drugs on the market today act on ion channels,
either directly or indirectly, including calcium channel blockers for
hypertension and angina, and sodium channel blockers for pain. Hydra
Biosciences` TRP channel discovery program has identified numerous modulators
predicted to impact diseases such as pain and inflammation, hypertension and
pulmonary diseases. Many of these modulators have been shown to be efficacious
in animal models of disease. In addition, ion channels have been successful drug
targets, with modulators of ion flux representing up to 17 percent of world
pharmaceutical sales.

About Hydra Biosciences

Hydra Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, develops drugs to treat pain, inflammation, pulmonary diseases
and other disorders using its expertise in novel ion channels. Hydra
Biosciences` proprietary platforms enable the company to identify and develop
drug candidates that address significant unmet medical needs. More information
about Hydra Biosciences is available at: www.hydrabiosciences.com.

Yates Public Relations
Kathryn Morris, 845-835-9828

Copyright Business Wire 2009