The Ligand will earn $2m milestone payment from Merck triggered by the initiation of Phase 2b/3 trial of dinaciclib for the treatment of patients with refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Ligand president and chief executive officer John Higgins said dinaciclib holds significant potential in oncology.
"Today’s announcement reinforces the strength of Ligand’s business model, which is focused on drug discovery with a goal of entering high quality collaborations to advance candidates through late-stage development," Higgins added.
Dinaciclib is a pro-apoptotic inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases being evaluated for the treatment of CLL.