Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Awarded Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Development of OPT-80 to Treat Deadly Hospital Associated Infection

SAN DIEGO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTR) has been awarded a $1 million annual federal grant which will be applied to the late-stage development of OPT-80 to treat Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea (C. difficile), or CDAD. C. difficile is a bacterial strain that can accumulate in the gut causing severe diarrhea and is potentially more lethal than Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).