Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. has entered into a worldwide license agreement with Gilead Sciences, under which Gilead will use the OmniRat, OmniMouse and OmniFlicplatforms to discover fully human mono- and bispecific antibodies for the treatment of various diseases. Ligand is eligible to receive platform access payments, milestones and royalties for each product incorporating an OmniAb antibody. Gilead will be responsible for all costs related to the programs.
 
“Having access to the OmniAb platform provides Gilead with an industry-leading technology to discover novel antibody therapeutics,” said John Higgins, chief executive officer of Ligand. “This license agreement adds to the multiple post-OMT-acquisition licensing agreements that have already been signed including one recently signed with F-star. It also continues to demonstrate the licensing power of the OmniAb platform, which stands next to Captisol and other proprietary Ligand technologies in driving our future growth opportunities.”