MEI, Infinity report all-stock transaction to advance three oncology candidates

MEI Pharma (MEIP) and Infinity Pharmaceuticals (INFI) announced that the companies entered into a definitive merger agreement for an all-stock transaction forming a company combining the expertise and resources of MEI and Infinity to advance a pipeline of three clinical-stage oncology drug candidates. All three clinical-stage development programs have the potential, in combination with current therapies, to overcome known resistance mechanisms and meaningfully improve patient outcomes. The combined company’s clinical-stage oncology development pipeline consists of three differentiated programs: Eganelisib, an oral immuno-oncology macrophage reprogramming product candidate, which is planned to be evaluated in combination with the PD-1 targeted checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA(R)) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); Voruciclib, an oral CDK9 inhibitor, currently being studied in combination with venetoclax (VENCLEXTA(R)) in patients with hematologic malignancies and ME-344, a novel tumor selective mitochondrial inhibitor targeting the OXPHOS pathway, to be evaluated in combination with bevacizumab (AVASTIN(R)) in patients with relapsed colorectal cancer.