Ligand Licenses Captisol-enabled™ Lamotrigine to CURx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
SAN DIEGO--
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) announced it
has expanded its global license agreement with CURx Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. to also include the development and commercialization of Ligand’s
Captisol-enabled™ Lamotrigine program. Under the terms of the expanded
license, Ligand will be eligible to receive $22 million in potential
milestone payments, revenue from the sales of Captisol, and tiered
royalties on future net sales in the range of 4% to 7% for
Captisol-enabled™ Lamotrigine. CURx will be responsible for all costs
related to the program.
“This is Ligand’s second program licensed to CURx and is another example
of the importance of our Captisol® formulation technology to enable new
and highly differentiated programs. We are pleased that our relationship
with CURx has expanded with the licensing of Captisol-enabled™
Lamotrigine, a product candidate targeting hospital-based seizures,”
commented John Higgins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ligand.
“Captisol-enabled™ Lamotrigine adds to our growing pipeline of over 100
partnerships.”
Dinu Sen, CEO and founder of CURx, commented, “We are delighted to
report expansion of our portfolio of development products to three,
including our second Captisol-enabled™ anti-epileptic drug. Consistent
with our development plans for Captisol-enabled Topiramate, our goal is
to develop this IV formulation of lamotrigine as a bridging therapy for
patients with epilepsy who are temporarily unable to take oral
lamotrigine.”
About Captisol-Enabled™ Lamotrigine
Captisol-enabled™ Lamotrigine was specifically formulated by Ligand to
provide an intravenous or intramuscular option for hospitalized patients
unable to use oral lamotrigine. Lamictal® (lamotrigine) is approved as
adjunctive therapy in patients with partial seizures, adjunctive
treatment of generalized seizures of Lennox-Gastuat syndrome and
maintenance treatment of Bipolar I disorder. Captisol-enabled™
Lamotrigine is currently in pre-clinical development. Lamictal® and
Lamictal® XR™ are marketed by GlaxoSmithKline. Lamictal® lost patent
exclusivity in 2009.
About Captisol®
Captisol is a patent-protected, chemically modified cyclodextrin with a
structure designed to optimize the solubility and stability of drugs.
Captisol was invented and initially developed by scientists in the
laboratories of Dr. Valentino Stella at the University of Kansas’
Higuchi Biosciences Center for specific use in drug development and
formulation. This unique technology has enabled six FDA-approved
products, including Onyx Pharmaceuticals’ Kyprolis®, Baxter
International's Nexterone® and Merck’s Noxafil®
IV. There are currently more than 50 Captisol-enabled products in
development, including Lundbeck’s Carbella™, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals’
Captisol-enabled Melphalan and Melinta Therapeutics’ delafloxacin IV
program.
About CURx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CURx Pharmaceuticals develops therapeutics to provide effective
solutions to currently unmet needs of patients with chronic diseases.
CURX has licensed three mid- to late-stage molecules that fulfill our
criteria for further development. These criteria include sound
scientific rationale, strong preclinical and clinical study results,
defined regulatory pathway to approval and robust IP protection. CURx
Pharmaceuticals’ lead clinical asset is Fosfomycin Tobramycin for
Inhalation (FTI), which is being developed as a treatment for patients
with Cystic Fibrosis. CURx is committed to serving patients with
innovative and differentiated therapeutics that will improve their
quality of life and clinical outcome.
About Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Ligand is a biopharmaceutical company with a business model that is
based upon the concept of developing or acquiring royalty revenue
generating assets and coupling them to a lean corporate cost structure.
Ligand’s goal is to produce a bottom line that supports a sustainably
profitable business. By diversifying our portfolio of assets across
numerous technology types, therapeutic areas, drug targets and industry
partners, we offer investors an opportunity to invest in the
increasingly complicated and unpredictable pharmaceutical industry. In
comparison to its peers, we believe Ligand has assembled one of the
largest and most diversified asset portfolios in the industry with the
potential to generate revenue in the future. These therapies address the
unmet medical needs of patients for a broad spectrum of diseases
including diabetes, hepatitis, muscle wasting, Alzheimer's disease,
dyslipidemia, anemia, asthma and osteoporosis. Ligand’s Captisol
platform technology is a patent protected, chemically modified
cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the solubility and
stability of drugs. Ligand has established multiple alliances with the
world's leading pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Onyx
Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Amgen Inc.), Merck, Pfizer, Baxter
International, Eli Lilly & Co., Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and
AstraZeneca. Please visit www.captisol.com
for more information on Captisol. For more information on Ligand, please
visit www.ligand.com.
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 clinical
development of Captisol-enabled Lamotrigine, possibility of commercial
success, efficacy, potency, competitiveness and the strength of Ligand's
product portfolio. Actual events or results may differ from our
expectations. For example, there can be no assurance that
Captisol-enabled Lamotrigine will progress through clinical development
or receive required regulatory approvals within the expected timelines
or at all, that further clinical trials will confirm any safety or other
characteristics or profile, that there will be a market of any size for
Captisol-enabled Lamotrigine or that Captisol-enabled Lamotrigine will
be beneficial to patients or successfully marketed. The failure to meet
expectations with respect to any of the foregoing matters may have a
negative effect on Ligand's stock price. Additional information
concerning these and other risk factors affecting Ligand's business can
be found in prior press releases available via www.ligand.com
as well as in Ligand's public periodic filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
Ligand disclaims any intent or obligation to update these
forward-looking statements beyond the date of this release. This caution
is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
John Higgins, President and CEO
(858)
550-7500
investors@ligand.com
@Ligand_LGND
or
LHA
Bruce
Voss
(310) 691-7100
bvoss@lhai.com
@LHA_IR_PR
Source: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
Released September 9, 2014