Ligand acquires financial rights to over 15 development programs from Selexis

US drugmaker Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LGND) has acquired a portfolio of potential future milestone and royalty payments for more than 15 biologic development programs from privately-held Swiss life sciences firm Selexis SA. Each acquired program is fully funded by a development partner.

The basis for the development programs is Selexis’ proprietary technology platform for generating stable and high performing manufacturing mammalian cell lines for biologic therapeutics. The acquired assets include potentially groundbreaking mechanisms of action of biological drugs and expand Ligand’s presence in large, growing therapeutic markets such as oncology, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The acquired programs are in various stages of preclinical and clinical development.

Ligand’s portfolio now features more than 85 fully-funded partnered assets