AZ returns rights to two oncology programs

AstraZeneca has handed back the rights to two oncology programs it picked up in the 2007 acquisition of MedImmune. Infinity Pharmaceuticals gets the full rights to IPI-504 and IPI-493, both of which target heat shock protein 90. Researchers believe that by blocking Hsp90 they can inhibit tumor growth and promote cancer cell death.

One of those programs has already advanced to late-stage testing. According to Inifinity, IPI-504 is in an international Phase III registration trial for patients with refractory gastrointestinal stromal tumors, "positioning it as the potential first-to-market Hsp90 inhibitor."

"With a prospective first-to-market Hsp90 inhibitor in late-stage development, we believe we can accelerate the timeframe for Infinity to establish a meaningful commercial presence," said Adelene Q. Perkins, president and chief business officer at Cambridge, MA-based Infinity. "In conjunction with our recently announced alliance with Purdue Pharma, Infinity now has U.S. commercial rights to our entire oncology portfolio, giving us the ability to build a commercial organization to independently bring our innovative medicines to patients."

- check out Infinity's release

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