In a creative deal that echoes the strategic tie-up last year between Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the Purdue Pharma LP / Mundipharma International Corp. Ltd. family of companies [See Deal], the Italian pharma Chiesi Farmaceutici SPA is buying a majority stake in respiratory specialist Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., which gets $15.5 million, US rights for 10 years to Chiesi's marketed lung surfactant, as well as US rights on other FDA-approved Chiesi compounds. [See Deal]
The deal is yet another twist on the kind of big brother-little brother relationship model first espoused by Roche and...