Ligand Announces Licensing Partner Janssen Has Filed an IND for an Antibody Discovered Using the OmniAb® Technology
March 28 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
IND filing results in $1 million milestone
payment to Ligand
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND)
announces that CNA Development LLC, an affiliate of Janssen
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen) has filed an IND for an antibody
discovered using Ligand’s OmniAb technology. This IND filing
results in a $1 million milestone payment to Ligand.
“This milestone represents an important step in the development
process and is the second IND filed with the FDA for an antibody
discovered with the OmniAb technology,” said John Higgins, Chief
Executive Officer of Ligand. “Ligand acquired the OmniAb technology
platform in January of 2016 and has since entered into multiple new
licensing agreements for the technology. This IND filing represents
continued value creation from the OmniAb acquisition and continues
to build on Ligand’s shots-on-goal business model.”
Janssen gained access to the OmniAb platform in October of 2013
and is able to use the OmniRat®, OmniMouse® and OmniFlic® platforms
to discover fully human mono- and bispecific antibodies. Ligand is
eligible to receive development milestone payments and royalties
for each product incorporating an OmniAb antibody. Janssen is
responsible for all costs related to the programs.
About OmniAb®
OmniAb includes three transgenic animal platforms for producing
mono- and bispecific human therapeutic antibodies. OmniRat® is the
industry’s first human monoclonal antibody technology based on
rats. It has a complete immune system with a diverse antibody
repertoire and generates antibodies with human idiotypes as
effectively as wild-type animals make rat antibodies. OmniMouse® is
a transgenic mouse that complements OmniRat and expands epitope
coverage. OmniFlic® is an engineered rat with a fixed light chain
for development of bispecific, fully human antibodies. The three
platforms use patented technology, have broad freedom to operate
and deliver fully human antibodies with high affinity, specificity,
expression, solubility and stability.
About Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Ligand is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing or
acquiring technologies that help pharmaceutical companies discover
and develop medicines. Our business model creates value for
stockholders by providing a diversified portfolio of biotech and
pharmaceutical product revenue streams that are supported by an
efficient and low corporate cost structure. Our goal is to offer
investors an opportunity to participate in the promise of the
biotech industry in a profitable, diversified and lower-risk
business than a typical biotech company. Our business model is
based on doing what we do best: drug discovery, early-stage drug
development, product reformulation and partnering. We partner with
other pharmaceutical companies to leverage what they do best
(late-stage development, regulatory management and
commercialization) to ultimately generate our revenue. Ligand’s
Captisol® platform technology is a patent-protected, chemically
modified cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the
solubility and stability of drugs. OmniAb® is a patent-protected
transgenic animal platform used in the discovery of fully human
mono-and bispecific therapeutic antibodies. Ligand has established
multiple alliances, licenses and other business relationships with
the world's leading pharmaceutical companies including Novartis,
Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Celgene, Gilead, Janssen, Baxter
International and Eli Lilly.
Follow Ligand on Twitter @Ligand_LGND.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements by Ligand
that involve risks and uncertainties and reflect Ligand's judgment
as of the date of this release. These include statements regarding
Ligand's license agreement with Jannsen under which Ligand may
receive milestone payments and royalties. Actual events or results
may differ from our expectations. For example, there can be no
assurances that the FDA will approve the IND filed by Janssen;
Janssen may choose to delay or abandon their program related to the
OmniAb antibodies, including for reasons beyond Janssen’s control;
and Janssen may not successfully develop or market any antibodies
discovered under the license agreement. The failure to meet
expectations with respect to any of the foregoing matters may
reduce Ligand's stock price. Additional information concerning
these and other important risk factors affecting Ligand can be
found in Ligand's prior press releases available at www.ligand.com
as well as in Ligand's public periodic filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov. Ligand disclaims
any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements
beyond the date of this press release, except as required by law.
This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170328005516/en/
Ligand Pharmaceuticals IncorporatedTodd
Pettingill858-550-7500investors@ligand.com@Ligand_LGNDorLHABruce
Voss310-691-7100bvoss@lhai.com
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