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Ligand Gets Milestone Payment on Partner Drug FDA Approval
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Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (LGND - Free Report) announced receipt of a milestone payment of $1.5 million after its partner Melinta Therapeutics’ pipeline candidate Baxdela (delafloxacin) was approved by the FDA. Baxdela was approved to treat acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI), caused by susceptible bacteria.
Melinta leveraged Ligand’s Captisol technology to develop the IV formulation of Baxdela. In addition to the milestone payment, Ligand is entitled to earn a 2.5% royalty on Baxdela IV sales.
Shares of Ligand have outperformed the Zacks classified Medical-Biomed/Genetics industry so far this year. The stock rallied 13.9% compared with the broader industry’s increase of 6.4%.
Notably, Melinta had submitted New Drug Applications (NDAs) to FDA for Baxdela in Oct 2016. Subsequently, the drug was accepted by the same in Jan 2017 under priority review. Eventually, the FDA has sanctioned both the intravenous and oral versions of Baxdela for treatment of ABSSSI.
The FDA approval was supported by positive results from two phase III studies in patients with ABSSSI. Baxdela met the primary endpoint of non-inferiority in reducing lesion size at the primary infection site at 48-to-72 hours to a combination regimen of vancomycin plus aztreonam in both the phase III studies.
Ligand’s Captisol formulation technology platform has allowed it to enter into partnerships with several leading drug companies like Novartis AG (NVS - Free Report) , Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK - Free Report) , and Amgen Inc. (AMGN - Free Report) that provide it with funds in the form of milestone and royalty payments. Captisol is a well validated chemically modified cyclodextrin that is designed to improve safety and solubility, stability, and bioavailability or lessen the volatility, irritation, smell or taste of drugs. Ligand derives revenues by selling Captisol material to its partners who have either licensed the company’s Captisol-enabled drugs or have licensed Captisol for their internal programs.
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Ligand Gets Milestone Payment on Partner Drug FDA Approval
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (LGND - Free Report) announced receipt of a milestone payment of $1.5 million after its partner Melinta Therapeutics’ pipeline candidate Baxdela (delafloxacin) was approved by the FDA. Baxdela was approved to treat acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI), caused by susceptible bacteria.
Melinta leveraged Ligand’s Captisol technology to develop the IV formulation of Baxdela. In addition to the milestone payment, Ligand is entitled to earn a 2.5% royalty on Baxdela IV sales.
Shares of Ligand have outperformed the Zacks classified Medical-Biomed/Genetics industry so far this year. The stock rallied 13.9% compared with the broader industry’s increase of 6.4%.
Notably, Melinta had submitted New Drug Applications (NDAs) to FDA for Baxdela in Oct 2016. Subsequently, the drug was accepted by the same in Jan 2017 under priority review. Eventually, the FDA has sanctioned both the intravenous and oral versions of Baxdela for treatment of ABSSSI.
The FDA approval was supported by positive results from two phase III studies in patients with ABSSSI. Baxdela met the primary endpoint of non-inferiority in reducing lesion size at the primary infection site at 48-to-72 hours to a combination regimen of vancomycin plus aztreonam in both the phase III studies.
Ligand’s Captisol formulation technology platform has allowed it to enter into partnerships with several leading drug companies like Novartis AG (NVS - Free Report) , Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK - Free Report) , and Amgen Inc. (AMGN - Free Report) that provide it with funds in the form of milestone and royalty payments. Captisol is a well validated chemically modified cyclodextrin that is designed to improve safety and solubility, stability, and bioavailability or lessen the volatility, irritation, smell or taste of drugs. Ligand derives revenues by selling Captisol material to its partners who have either licensed the company’s Captisol-enabled drugs or have licensed Captisol for their internal programs.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Price
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Price | Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Quote
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Ligand currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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Starting now, for the next month, I invite you to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum...from stocks under $10 to ETF to option movers...from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors. Click here for Zacks' secret trade>>