Infinity gets $75M for cancer partnership

Infinity Pharmaceuticals is getting $75 million up-front in a partnership deal for the company's early-stage research. Purdue Pharma and affiliate Mundipharma are buying 4 million shares of Infinity for $45 million, or $11.25 per share (a 112 percent premium over Wednesday's close). The companies may purchase an additional 2 million shares for $30 million. Purdue will also fund 100 percent of the costs of any research or product development program in which they are participating. The funding, subject to early termination rights, lasts until the later of the start of the first Phase III trial for the program or December 31, 2013. It is not milestone-based. Over the next three years, this R&D funding may total approximately $200 million. In addition to this, two entities associated with Purdue will make available to Infinity a $50 million line of credit. This line of credit may be used by Infinity for any business purpose.

The partnership will advance Infinity's early-stage clinical and discovery pipeline of small molecule drug candidates. This includes IPI-926, an inhibitor of the "hedgehog" pathway. IPI-926 is Phase I trials for advanced solid tumors and has demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity in a number of preclinical models. Other early-stage programs include targets for neuropathic pain.

"This alliance with Purdue Pharma and Mundipharma provides Infinity with the financial resources and independence to continue our productive discovery efforts, to expand our clinical development capabilities, and to build our own organization to commercialize our products in the United States," said Steven H. Holtzman, chair and CEO of Infinity.

- see Infinity's release [1]