Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INFI) and AbbVie Inc (ABBV) Stand Together Against Cancer

AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) will provide Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI) with $275 million to fortify a new venture to develop new treatments for patients with blood cancer. The main idea behind this deal is combining the current methods and expertise  from both companies to develop a more effective new product for cancer patients, Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI)’s CEO Adelene Q. Perkins said in an interview on CNBC on Wednesday.

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI)

“[…] We plan to do that with trials that we have on their way today, evaluating our medicine, called Duvelisib, treating patients with Duvelisib alone and together with AbbVie to take it to the next step […] which is combining our targeted medicine with other targeted medicines and we think that has the potential to take patients from a life threatening condition towards, in the near term, living with their disease as a chronic condition and ultimately getting to more curative outcomes,” stated Adelene Q. Perkins.

According to a joint statement, Duvelisib, under study as a monotherapy, is an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)-delta and PI3K-gamma. There’s an already ongoing Phase I study in patients with advanced stages of blood cancer. Next phases are expected to begin by the end of the year. The strategic collaboration between the pharmaceutical companies implies that Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI) and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) will equally share the profits from sales in the US. Both companies see great potential in the venture.

There seems to be more than one reason to venture in order to bring a new product to the patients, although it is currently unclear how will the new drug behave compared to competitors’ products and even to Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INFI)’s and AbbVie Inc (ABBV)’s already existing medications. Perkins is confident that there is a need for a better treatment of patients, which enjoy some relative amelioration due to the already existing drugs, but are far from being fully cured.

Disclosure: none