Infinity/Purdue: The Challenge of Reprising Roche/Genentech

Infinity's "Big Brother" deal with the privately held affiliates Purdue and Mundipharma comes closest of any recent deal to replicating the structure of the Genentech/Roche relationship -- swapping the majority of a biotech's pipeline to a well-heeled partner in return for independence from the capital markets and enough commercial upside to deliver a long-term return for investors. But the idiosyncrasies of the Purdue/Mundipharma ownership and structure, and the recent stormy history that opened minds to the possibility of such a deal, show why further iterations of the model will remain a rarity.