Infinity Announces Small Molecule Collaboration With Novartis
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that it has entered into a collaborative agreement with Novartis to jointly design a collection of novel small molecules to be synthesized by Infinity using its innovative chemical technology platform. The collaboration represents a unique opportunity for both companies given the synergy between Infinity’s diversity oriented synthesis expertise, and Novartis’ wealth of experience with natural products and accumulated expertise in the identification of preferred pharmacophores. Both Infinity and Novartis may use the resulting compound collection in their own independent drug discovery efforts.
Under the agreement, Novartis has made a significant equity investment in Infinity and will pay additional fees expected to exceed $10M over the course of the two year agreement. The Novartis Venture Fund has previously invested in Infinity.
“The unique chemistry capabilities at Infinity allow us to fill an industry-wide need for greater chemical diversity so that new therapies can be discovered more reliably and predictably. Novartis is an ideal partner in our effort to create novel products that address unmet medical needs,” said Julian Adams, Chief Scientific Officer, Infinity. “The union of our leading chemistry teams and technologies will create unprecedented value for both companies’ independent drug discovery efforts.”
“At Novartis, we are committed to enriching the diversity of our compound collection to match the wide range of targets revealed by our genomics efforts and the Infinity collaboration plays a key role in satisfying this commitment”, said Scott Biller, Vice President and Head of Global Discovery Chemistry for the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, the research division of Novartis. “The natural product-like structures available through Infinity’s established chemistry capabilities have a high likelihood of success in phenotypic approaches to drug discovery. Infinity has an exceptionally robust platform for synthesizing diverse compounds and we look forward to using this asset to jointly design novel collections.”
“Novartis seeks out companies that can provide access to innovative technologies that meet our key strategic needs. We believe that a collaboration with Infinity meets our high standards given the great synergy between our respective technologies and capabilities” stated Jeremy Levin, Global Head of Strategic Alliances for Novartis. “We look forward to partnering with Infinity – a company whose unique scientific approach, top tier management team, outstanding scientific staff and advisory boards will all contribute to the success of our collaboration.”
“Infinity welcomes the opportunity for chemists from both organizations to work together in leveraging their complementary strengths to create a truly unique asset that will enhance each of our drug discovery efforts,” said Steven H. Holtzman, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Infinity. “This collaboration illustrates Infinity’s success in identifying partners with a strong strategic fit and showcases the tremendous advantage of leveraging a platform technology for internal drug discovery as well as revenue generation. We are thrilled to be working with Novartis, which has an established and well-regarded track record of success, and anticipate tremendous value creation for both parties.”
About Infinity’s Chemical Technology Platform
Infinity’s integrated team of synthetic, process, natural product, and combinatorial chemists have developed an industrialized technology platform to create a proprietary compound collection through the application of diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS).
