Cambridge, MA-based Infinity Pharmaceuticals has found a way to secure more than $50 million for its R&D programs, through an extension of its partnership with Mundipharma.
Infinity (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) said today that Mundipharma has committed more than $50 million in 2013 to the development of drug candidates from Infinity’s pipeline, including IPI-145, a molecule designed to block two specific forms of the PI3 kinase pathway. That drug is being developed to go after a variety of blood cancers and inflammatory conditions.
Infinity first struck the global alliance with Mundipharma back in November 2008. That’s when Stamford, CT-based Purdue Pharma, the maker of oxycodone (Oxycontin) and Mundipharma, an affiliated company with operations outside the U.S., agreed to pay $75 million upfront to tap into Infinity’s R&D capabilities. The original deal also provided Infinity with access to a $50 million line of credit from Purdue, and today Infinity said it has chosen to borrow all of that money. The debt will have to paid back by 2019, Infinity said in a statement.
“Since our alliance began in 2008, Infinity has advanced and expanded its portfolio of innovative product candidates,” said Antony Mattessich, regional director of Europe at Mundipharma, in an Infinity statement.
