Infinity, Takeda amend PI3K deal

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502) amended a 2010 deal on Monday under which Infinity has exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize Takeda's phosphoinositide-3-kinase ( PI3K) inhibitors, including lead compound IPI-145. Takeda received a $15 million payment from Infinity in exchange for waiving its option to convert its U.S. royalties for any cancer products developed under the deal into a 50/50 share of profits and losses from U.S. development and commercialization. The partners also ended early a research program under which they were working to identify additional PI3K inhibitors. The program was set to expire in July 2013.

Takeda also received a $5 million milestone payment from Infinity for the August start of a Phase IIa trial evaluating IPI-145 for asthma. The oral delta and gamma inhibitor of PI3K is also in a Phase I trial to treat advanced hematologic malignancies, with a Phase II trial in rheumatoid arthritis slated to start in 1H13. The pharma is still eligible for up to $15 million in developmental milestones and up to $450 million in approval and commercialization milestones for the first two products arising from the deal, plus tiered royalties on all potential products. ...