Ligand, Omthera Ink Cholesterol Drug R&D Alliance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has entered into a licensing agreement and research collaboration with Omthera Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca, to develop cholesterol medications to treat dyslipidemia, including hypertriglyceridemia. The research will target the development of novel products using Ligand’s LTP Technology to improve lipid-lowering activity of certain omega-3 fatty acids.
 
Ligand will be eligible to receive payments of as much as $44.5 million for the achievement of certain milestones, as well as royalties on sales. Omthera is responsible for all research and clinical development costs as well as commercialization of any products derived from the collaboration.
 
“This collaboration, our first with Ligand’s newest platform technology, holds powerful potential. Ligand’s proprietary LTP Technology and our rich history and vast knowledge in molecule discovery, design and targeting combine very well with Omthera’s expertise in the clinical development of new therapies for lipid disorders,” said John Higgins, Ligand’s president and chief executive officer. “With Omthera, we are partnering with an organization that is highly capable of developing and commercializing drug products with our LTP Technology to reach the estimated hundreds of millions people world-wide suffering from dyslipidemia-related diseases.”