Ligand to Acquire APEIRON Biologics AG for $100 Million
Acquisition provides Ligand with the royalty rights to QARZIBA®, a highly differentiated, commercial oncology drug marketed in 35 countries by global pharmaceutical company Recordati S.p.A.
QARZIBA is the sixth key asset added to Ligand’s commercial stage portfolio since the beginning of 2023
Transaction will be immediately accretive to Ligand EPS by an estimated
Ligand increases 2024 adjusted EPS guidance range by 17% to
APEIRON is a private biopharmaceutical company based in
“The addition of QARZIBAto our commercial royalty portfolio further supports our growth strategy to invest in high-value medicines that deliver significant clinical value and generate predictable and long-term revenue streams for our investors,” said
Transaction Terms
Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by both theBoard of Directors at Ligand and APEIRON’s Supervisory Board, Ligand will acquire all the outstanding shares ofAPEIRON for
Concurrently, Ligand is also entering into a stock purchase agreement whereby it has committed to investing up to
Financial Guidance Update
The APEIRON acquisition will be immediately accretive to Ligand’s earnings per share (EPS) by approximately
About QARZIBA®
QARZIBA is a monoclonal antibody that is specifically directed against the carbohydrate moiety of disialoganglioside 2 (GD2), which is overexpressed on neuroblastoma cells. Dinutuximab beta was approved by the
Dinutuximab beta was originally discovered by
About
APEIRON Biologics is a private biopharmaceutical company based in
About
Ligand is a biopharmaceutical company enabling scientific advancement through supporting the clinical development of high-value medicines. Ligand does this by providing financing, licensing our technologies or both. Its business model seeks to generate value for stockholders by creating a diversified portfolio of biopharmaceutical product revenue streams that are supported by an efficient and low corporate cost structure. Ligand’s goal is to offer investors an opportunity to participate in the promise of the biotech industry in a profitable and diversified manner. Its business model focuses on funding programs in mid- to late-stage drug development in return for economic rights, purchasing royalty rights in development stage or commercial biopharmaceutical products and licensing its technology to help partners discover and develop medicines. Ligand partners with other pharmaceutical companies to leverage what they do best (late-stage development, regulatory management and commercialization) in order to generate its revenue. Ligand’s Captisol® platform technology is a chemically modified cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the solubility and stability of drugs. Ligand has established multiple alliances, licenses and other business relationships with the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies including Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Jazz, Takeda, Gilead Sciences and Baxter International. For more information, please visit www.ligand.com. Follow Ligand on X @Ligand_LGND.
We use our investor relations website and X as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Investors should monitor our website and our X account, in addition to following our press releases,
Adjusted Financial Measures
Ligand reports adjusted earnings per share in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Ligand’s financial measures under GAAP include share-based earnings expense, amortization of debt-related costs, amortization related to acquisitions and intangible assets, changes in contingent liabilities, mark-to-market adjustments for amounts relating to its equity investments in public companies, excess tax benefit from share-based earnings, income tax effect of adjusted reconciling items and others. However, Ligand does not provide reconciliations of such forward-looking adjusted measures to GAAP due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliation, including adjustments that could be made for changes in contingent liabilities, changes in the market value of its investments in public companies, share-based compensation expense and the effects of any discrete income tax items. Management has excluded the effects of these items in its adjusted measures to assist investors in analyzing and assessing Ligand’s past and future core operating performance. Additionally, adjusted earnings per diluted share is a key component of the financial metrics utilized by Ligand’s board of directors to measure, in part, management’s performance and determine significant elements of management’s compensation.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements by Ligand that involve risks and uncertainties and reflect Ligand's judgment as of the date of this release. Words such as “plans,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” and “will,” and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding: the timing of the anticipated acquisition and when and whether the anticipated acquisition ultimately will close; the potential contributions the acquisition is expected to bring to Ligand, including technologies, collaborations and revenue streams, the potential to secure additional licenses, and development operations; and the expected impact on Ligand’s future financial and operating results. Actual events or results may differ from Ligand’s expectations due to risks and uncertainties inherent in Ligand’s business, including, without limitation: the risk that the conditions to the closing of the transaction are not satisfied; litigation relating to the transaction; uncertainties as to the timing of the consummation of the transaction and the ability of each of Ligand or APEIRON to consummate the transaction; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts the current and future plans and operations of Ligand or APEIRON; whether the acquisition will be immediately accretive to Ligand’s earnings per share; whether Ligand’s adjusted 2024 guidance comes to fruition; the success of Ligand’s investment in invIOs
1 Based on midpoint of revised and prior EPS range.
2 Based on 2023 reported financials.
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