CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 11, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:INFI) today announced the appointment of Joshua D. Hamermesh as vice president, business and corporate development, with responsibility for the company's corporate strategy and business development initiatives. Mr. Hamermesh joins Infinity with over a dozen years of experience in strategy consulting, business development, strategic finance and alliance management in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. Mr. Hamermesh will serve as a member of Infinity's executive leadership team, reporting directly to Adelene Perkins, the company's president and chief executive officer.
"Josh is an accomplished executive and has a solid track record of successfully completing in-licensing transactions, structuring strategic alliances and developing business strategies that create opportunities for growth. We are delighted to welcome Josh to the team," stated Adelene Q. Perkins, president and chief executive officer of Infinity. "Josh's experience and leadership will be integral to identifying new business development opportunities that can accelerate our path toward becoming a fully integrated company and generate value for our shareholders."
"With cash runway into 2014 based on its current operating plan, Infinity has the financial strength and flexibility to look for new business opportunities to fuel future growth. I am excited to join Infinity at this unique time in the company's evolution," said Mr. Hamermesh. "Infinity has a history of leveraging strategic relationships to fund and advance its business and I look forward to further enhancing the company's profile."
Strategic relationships, such as Infinity's alliance with Purdue Pharma and Mundipharma as well as its in-license agreement with Intellikine, have been integral to the company's strategy since its inception. These alliances have provided Infinity access to significant research and development funding, innovative drug development programs and global markets, enabling Infinity to advance its diverse product pipeline and retain significant downstream value.
Prior to joining Infinity, Mr. Hamermesh held the position of senior vice president, strategy and corporate development at Pervasis Therapeutics, Inc., where he led strategic partnering initiatives for the company's product development portfolio. Prior to that, he served as vice president, commercial and business development at Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he completed numerous in-licensing transactions and supported the company's initial public offering. Mr. Hamermesh began his biotechnology career at Genzyme Corporation, where he served as chief operating officer of MG Biotherapeutics, a joint venture with Medtronic, Inc., after holding positions of increasing responsibility in the marketing and business development groups. He also served as a business strategy consultant to the industry at the Monitor Company. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College.
About Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Infinity is an innovative drug discovery and development company seeking to discover, develop and deliver to patients best-in-class medicines for difficult-to-treat diseases. Infinity combines proven scientific expertise with a passion for developing novel small molecule drugs that target emerging disease pathways. Infinity's programs in the inhibition of the Hedgehog pathway, the Hsp90 chaperone system, fatty acid amide hydrolase and phosphoinositide-3-kinase are evidence of its innovative approach to drug discovery and development. For more information on Infinity, please refer to the company's website at 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 those regarding the expectation that Infinity will have capital to support its current operating plan into 2014, that Infinity will be able to execute new business relationships, and that any such business relationships will create value for Infinity's shareholders. 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 Infinity's strategic alliance with Purdue and Mundipharma will continue for its expected term or that they will fund Infinity's programs as agreed, that any product candidate Infinity is developing will successfully complete necessary preclinical and clinical development phases, or that development of any of Infinity's product candidates will continue. Further, there can be no guarantee that any positive developments in Infinity's product portfolio will result in stock price appreciation. Management's expectations could also 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, investigational review boards at clinical trial sites; Infinity's ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials; unplanned cash requirements and expenditures, including in connection with business development activities; development of agents by Infinity's competitors for diseases in which Infinity is currently developing its product candidates; 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 for the year ended December 31, 2010 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2011. 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.