US-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals has signed an exclusive global licence agreement with TG Therapeutics to develop and commercialise Ligand’s interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase-4 (IRAK-4) inhibitors.
Under the agreement, Ligand Pharmaceuticals will receive approximately $1m of TG Therapeutics common stock at the time of signing and will be eligible for $207m in milestones.
Go deeper with GlobalData
In addition, Ligand Pharmaceuticals is eligible to receive tiered royalties of 6%-9.5% on future net sales of licensed products containing patented IRAK-4 inhibitors.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals president and CEO John Higgins said: “TG Therapeutics has a proven ability in transitioning preclinical compounds into best-in-class clinical programmes and IRAK-4 is an ideal complement to their two clinical-stage hematology products, namely TG-1101, or ublituximab, and TGR-1202, a PI3K delta inhibitor.
“Given the evolution of these areas of research, there may be opportunities for treatment synergies between IRAK-4 inhibitors and these other programmes.”
IRAK-4, a serine/threonine protein kinase, is a key signalling component downstream of both toll-like receptors and interleukin-1 receptor suggesting that it may have therapeutic value for a range of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataAccording to Ligand Pharmaceuticals, recent pre-clinical studies suggest a potential that IRAK-4 plays an important role in certain b-cell lymphomas.
The company has identified orally available small molecule inhibitors of IRAK4, which are under investigation for use in cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The rights to the IRAK-4 programme were originally acquired by Ligand Pharmaceuticals at a discovery stage through the acquisition of Pharmacopeia in 2008.
