SALT LAKE CITY and BOISE, Idaho, June 22, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company, is seeking new sources of a plant commonly known as corn lily, or Veratrum californicum, to help aid in the development of a potential new treatment for certain types of cancer. Also known locally as “cow cabbage” or “skunk cabbage,” this plant has been found growing on hills and alpine meadows across the western United States – primarily in Utah, Idaho and Oregon – and typically favors areas that are wet in the spring and 5,000 to 10,000 feet in altitude. Corn lily, which is often considered a “nuisance” weed, contains a key starting material for one of Infinity’s investigational therapies, IPI-926, which targets difficult-to-treat cancers, such as pancreatic cancer and chondrosarcoma.
