OPTR

Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc

A biopharmaceutical company that developed drugs for gastrointestinal infections, its standout medicine Dificid (fidaxomicin) was the first new antibiotic approved in 25 years for the dangerous Clostridium difficile diarrhea bug. Founded in 1998 in San Diego by husband-and-wife team Michael Chang and Tessie Che, the drug's compound traces back to a soil-dwelling bacterium that yields its active ingredient.