Deutsche Sees Cancer Treatment Home Run At Infinity Pharmaceuticals

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (NASDAQ: INFI) blood cancer drug Duvelisib could hit annual sales of $1.2 billion by capturing even a small share of the market, an analyst said Thursday.

Deutsche Bank's Robyn Karnauskas launched coverage on Infinity with a $20 target and said its partnership with AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) will provide long-term support.

Infinity changed hands recently up 3.7 percent at $12.61.

AbbVie agreed in September to help Infinity develop the treatment, making an upfront payment of $275 million to Infinity and agreeing to pay up to $530 million more if milestones are met.

Duvelisib may be comparable to Gilead Sciences Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GILD) Zydelig, approved in July for three types of blood cancers.

Gilead posted Zydelig sales of $26 million for the recent March quarter.

Duvelisib "appears more potent" than Zydelig and the market is underestimating its potential, Karnauskas said.

Within 18 months, results of two pivotal trials of Duveslib are expected concerning treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to Karnauskas.

"It's hard to predict the shape of the market in five to seven years" for cancer drugs, Karnauskas said.

But the analyst predicted a "75 percent chance" that Duveslib annual sales will peak at $1.2 billion.