Ligand Pharmaceuticals amends license agreement with Exelixis

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) has amended its license agreement with Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) as a result of which Ligand is now entitled to receive royalties on net sales of future products from a mineralocorticoid receptor program and a one-time $75,000 payment for providing access to certain patent rights. Also, as a result of Ligand’s settlement with Salk last year, the amendment eliminated certain minimum annual royalties that may have been payable by Exelixis.

The agreement originated in 1999 when Ligand invested in and licensed certain technologies to X-Ceptor, a private company subsequently acquired by Exelixis. As a result of the amendment, Ligand is now entitled to receive a royalty for the mineralocorticoid receptor program in preclinical studies targeting metabolic disease that Exelixis previously partnered with Daiichi Sankyo.