Ligand and GSK collaboration identifies new lead compound

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company, has identified a new lead for advancement in its alliance with GlaxoSmithKline.

The newly identified lead compound is from a program being evaluated as a potential treatment for inflammatory indications identified through the collaboration. As a result of this achievement, Ligand has earned a $500,000 milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Including this milestone, Ligand has received a total of $18.5 million from GSK in connection with the alliance. Ligand is entitled to receive success-based milestone payments from GSK, starting in the preclinical research stage, for each drug development program and potentially up to double-digit royalties on the sales of any product commercialized by GSK under the multi-program alliance.

The drug screening alliance with GSK began in March 2006 with the goal of identifying and advancing novel candidates in broad therapeutic areas.

John Higgins, president and CEO of Ligand, said: We are very pleased to see the continued progress with GSK under this broad and productive discovery alliance. GSK has been an excellent collaborator with Ligand through the years, working initially on the discovery of Promacta, which was recently approved, and now on multiple novel early-stage targets. These milestone payments provide cash to fuel our business and represent the value and caliber of the drug screening and research we provide our partners.