March 31, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Cambridge, Mass.-based Infinity Pharmaceuticals will pay $52.5 million to exercise its option to buy out to buy out all future royalty obligations from a Takeda Pharmaceuticals subsidiary for sales of experimental cancer drug duvelisib (IPI-145), the company said today, as the race for potent blood cancer treatments heats up.
The Takeda affiliate, Millennium, will now no longer have the option to receive tiered royalties ranging from seven percent to 11 percent on worldwide net sales of duvelisib in oncology indications. IPI-145 is currently undergoing one Phase II study in patients with refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and two Phase III studies for patients with previously treated follicular lymphoma and relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, respectively.
Infinity said the decision was made because the drug has shown promise treating a varied assortment of different types of cancer, meaning it could have unheralded potential across multiple treatment classes. Having to divvy up those eventually lucrative sales figures could cost more in the long run.
“Our decision to exercise this option underscores Infinity’s belief in the potential of duvelisib to be a first-in-class dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta,gamma for the treatment of a broad range of hematologic malignancies, or blood cancers, as we continue to advance our registration-focused studies in indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia,” stated Adelene Perkins, Infinity’s chair, president and chief executive officer.
IPI-145 is Infinity’s dual inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)-delta and PI3K-gamma. It is being jointly developed by Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and AbbVie , which hope to target the PI3K pathway, which regulates the growth and survival of certain types of blood cancers. Duvelisib being tested on how well it inhibits the growth and survival of tumor cells by blocking PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma signaling.
Infinity originally bought the option in July 2014 for $5 million from Takeda, after a 2012 deal restructured the terms of its development deal for the drug. That year, Infinity shelled out a $15 million payment to Takeda, so that Millennium would forego a 50/50 split on any of Infinity‘s PI3K inhibitors, including IPI-145. Infinity also gave Millennium a $5 million development milestone, after the company launched a Phase IIa clinical trial of IPI-145 for efficacy against asthma.
“We have had a successful relationship with Infinity since the December 2011 acquisition of Intellikine by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited,” said Kyle Kuvalanka, vice president, business development and corporate strategy and development of Millennium, when the deal was announced in 2012. “We look forward to Infinity‘s continued progress and to participating in the downstream value of its PI3K program through future milestone and royalty payments.”
