Infinity Strikes Development Deal

Infinity Pharmaceuticals has secured financing for the early clinical and discovery phases of its small-molecule drug pipeline through a global alliance with Purdue Pharma and Mundipharma International, Purdue's licensing arm. The deal includes Infinity's lead Hedgehog signaling pathway compound, IPI-926, now in Phase I cancer studies. Purdue will buy $75 million in Infinity stock and offer the firm a $50 million line of credit. Mundipharma will fund the development costs, up until Phase III trials, for IPI-926 and any new discovery programs, but Infinity retains the U.S. rights to those programs and will pay Mundipharma a royalty on any commercial sales.