Company: LGNZZ
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000886163-25-000012
Chunk: 6

Company: LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INC
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 6
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 Creek Biosciences, Inc., a late-stage cell and gene therapy company, to support Castle Creek’s D-Fi (FCX-007) Phase 3 clinical study. D-Fi is an injectable autologous gene-modified cell therapy in development for the treatment of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (“DEB”), candidate for the treatment of DEB, a devastating, painful, and debilitating rare genetic skin disorder. Under the terms of the agreement, we have invested $50 million in exchange for a mid-single digit royalty on worldwide sales of D-Fi and a portion of a future milestone payment upon D-Fi achieving FDA approval. An additional $25 million was secured from a syndicate of co-investors in return for a high-single digit royalty on worldwide sales of D-Fi. 

Throughout 2024 and into January of 2025, we acquired additional royalties from several Ohtuvayre inventors, bringing our total Ohtuvayre royalty to 3%.

In July 2024, we acquired Apeiron Biologics AG (“Apeiron”), which holds royalty rights to Qarziba (dinutuximab beta) for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma in patients aged 12 months and above, for $100 million. In addition, we agreed to pay Apeiron shareholders additional consideration based on future commercial and regulatory events, including up to $28 million if Qarziba royalties exceed certain predetermined thresholds by either 2030 or 2034, and pay additional earn-outs on specific future commercial and regulatory events. Qarziba was approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2017 and is commercially available in more than 35 countries. We receive a tiered mid-teen royalty on sales of Qarziba from Recordati. See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—Note (3), Acquisitions.”

In June 2024, following on our first two investments in 2018 and 2023, we invested an additional $2.5M in Palvella in the form of a convertible notes, which upon Pavella's merger with Pieris, converted to common shares of Pavella.

In May 2024, we committed $75 million to a royalty financing agreement (the “Agenus Agreement”) with Agenus intended to support Agenus’ key development initiatives in the ongoing botensilimab and balstilimab (“BOT/BAL”) clinical