CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 24, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:INFI), an innovative drug discovery and development company, today announced that Winselow S. Tucker, Jr. has joined Infinity as vice president, marketing, with responsibility for bringing commercial insights to the company's product development decisions and business development initiatives, as well as leading Infinity's new product marketing activities. Mr. Tucker has 15 years of commercial pharmaceutical experience in brand leadership and new product marketing, most recently at Novartis Pharmaceuticals where he was the global brand leader for the company's $4 billion Gleevec® (imatinib) and Tasigna® (nilotinib) franchise in oncology.
"In a highly competitive pharmaceutical marketplace, it is imperative that we incorporate true market insights early in development, with specific product labels in sight -- including in the right indications, lines of therapy and combinations, and with the right endpoints," said Adelene Q. Perkins, president and chief executive officer, Infinity. "Winselow brings substantial knowledge and experience to Infinity that will enhance our ability to translate evolving clinical data and market dynamics into smart development decisions for our pipeline of broadly applicable, targeted therapies, furthering our mission of delivering differentiated products to patients with difficult to treat diseases and becoming a fully integrated company."
Infinity has full global commercial rights to its portfolio of clinical-stage Hsp90 chaperone inhibitors, IPI-504 and IPI-493, and U.S. commercial rights to the rest of its oncology portfolio, including IPI-926, a novel inhibitor of the Hedgehog pathway that is currently in a randomized clinical trial in combination with Gemzar® (gemcitabine) in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Mr. Tucker joins Infinity following seven years with Novartis, where he held positions of increasing responsibility. Prior to his most recent role leading the Gleevec and Tasigna franchise in the United States, he led the U.S. launch of Tasigna, successfully integrating the product into the Novartis CML franchise. Mr. Tucker joined Novartis in Europe where he developed global marketing and launch strategies for a leading anti-hypertensive drug. Prior to Novartis, Mr. Tucker spent several years in new product planning and commercial roles at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, where he had responsibility for commercial decisions on a broad portfolio of products, indications and therapeutic areas. He also played a critical role in the successful launch of a blockbuster diabetes drug. Mr. Tucker holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Howard University and an M.B.A. in Marketing from Indiana University.
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 Hsp90 chaperone system, the Hedgehog pathway and fatty acid amide hydrolase are evidence of its innovative approach to 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, including statements regarding Infinity's ability to advance its product development portfolio and commercialize differentiated products. 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 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, that development of any of Infinity's product candidates will continue, or that Infinity will successfully complete a transaction to add an external product candidate to its portfolio. 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 the risks and uncertainties described under the caption "Risk Factors" included in Infinity's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 6, 2010. 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.
Gleevec® and Tasigna® are registered trademarks of Novartis AG. Gemzar® is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company.