CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and SALT LAKE CITY, March 25, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:INFI), an innovative cancer drug discovery and development company, today announced data on the chemistry leading to the discovery of its novel Hedgehog signaling pathway inhibitor, IPI-926. These data are being highlighted in three posters and one invited oral presentation at the 237th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting & Exposition, being held in Salt Lake City, Utah from March 22 through March 26, 2009.
The scientific presentations at ACS provide additional insights surrounding Infinity's early medicinal chemistry and work to develop its first generation Hedgehog antagonist and more recent data around improvements leading to the discovery and selection of Infinity's second-generation candidate, IPI-926. IPI-926 is now in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced solid tumors.
An oral presentation delivered today by Dr. Martin Tremblay, Associate Director at Infinity, details the data supporting selection of IPI-926 as Infinity's clinical candidate. Dr. Tremblay discusses how a team of Infinity scientists began with the medicinal plant Veratrum californicum, which contains a natural antagonist of the Hedgehog pathway, and performed a sequence of synthetic transformations leading to the synthesis of a new series of analogs with improved potency and solubility. Lead compounds from each series were then characterized in vitro and evaluated in vivo for their biological activity and pharmacokinetic properties. IPI-926 was selected from the second generation of these semi-synthetic compounds due to its improved pharmaceutical properties and potency and its superior pharmacokinetic profile relative to the naturally occurring compound.
In the poster presentations made at the ACS conference, Infinity scientists further discuss the medicinal chemistry and lead optimization studies of IPI-926 and its analogs. Data regarding the significant improvement in potency and solubility and the substantial increase in biological activity seen with IPI-926 over the naturally occurring compound are highlighted.
In a number of preclinical models, including pancreatic cancer, small cell lung cancer, and medulloblastoma, IPI-926 has demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity and excellent pharmaceutical properties, including oral bioavailability, long plasma half-life and duration of action, and dose-dependent inhibition of tumor growth. Infinity anticipates publishing additional preclinical data with IPI-926 at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in April 2009.
The slides accompanying Dr. Tremblay's oral presentation and the posters are currently available for review on the Infinity website at www.infi.com.
About the Hedgehog Pathway
The Hedgehog signaling pathway is highly active in regulating tissue and organ formation during embryonic development. However, abnormal activation of the Hedgehog pathway is believed to play a central role in the proliferation and survival of several types of cancers, including pancreatic, prostate, lung, breast, and certain brain cancers. In addition, recent evidence also suggests a role for the Hedgehog pathway in cancer stem cells, a subpopulation of self-renewing "progenitor-like" cells that are chemo-resistant and Hedgehog-dependent. This subpopulation of cells may be responsible for tumor re-growth and progression, despite treatment with conventional chemotherapeutic agents.
About Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Infinity is an innovative cancer drug discovery and development company seeking to discover, develop, and deliver to patients best-in-class medicines for the treatment of cancer and related conditions. Infinity combines proven scientific expertise with a passion for developing novel small molecule drugs that target emerging cancer pathways. Infinity's two most advanced programs in Hsp90 inhibition and Hedgehog signaling pathway inhibition are evidence of its innovative approach to oncology drug discovery and development. For more information on Infinity, please refer to the company's website at http://www.infi.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding the utility of Hedgehog inhibitors, including IPI-926, in treating various types of cancer. Such statements are subject to numerous factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from the company's current expectations. For example, there can be no guarantee that IPI-926 will successfully complete necessary preclinical and clinical development phases. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by risks and uncertainties relating to: results of clinical trials and preclinical studies, including subsequent analysis of existing data and new data received from ongoing and future studies; the content and timing of decisions made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory authorities and investigational review boards at clinical trial sites; Infinity's ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials; Infinity's reliance on its strategic alliance with Mundipharma International and Mundipharma's ability to meet its agreed-upon funding obligations; unplanned cash requirements and expenditures; and Infinity's ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for any product candidates it is developing. These and other risks which may impact management's expectations are described in greater detail under the caption "Risk Factors" included in Infinity's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13, 2009. Further, any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Infinity expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.