Nishan de Silva, M.D., has been appointed vice president of corporate development at Ligand Pharmaceuticals. In this newly created position, Dr. de Silva will focus on corporate strategy, acquisitions and out-licensing. He reports to president and chief executive officer John Higgins.

Dr. de Silva has 12 years of experience in biopharma venture capital and healthcare management consulting. Most recently he served as principal at the private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC, where he was responsible for identifying and sourcing late-stage biopharma investment opportunities. Previously he worked at the Sprout Group, a venture capital firm, and was a healthcare consultant at McKinsey & Co.

“Nishan will be a fantastic addition to our team,” said Mr. Higgins. “His experience in private equity and consulting, coupled with his medical training, has honed his valuable business and strategic instincts. He is highly analytical and has a strong grasp of how our industry works from a capitalization and value creation perspective. Given Ligand’s unique business model focused on consolidating assets and leveraging our portfolio through partnerships, Nishan will immediately help drive our business forward.”