Ligand Pharmaceuticals announced that CNA Development LLC, an affiliate of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has filed an IND for an antibody discovered using Ligand’s OmniAb technology. This IND filing results in a $1 million milestone payment to Ligand.
“This milestone represents an important step in the development process and is the second IND filed with the FDA for an antibody discovered with the OmniAb technology,” said John Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of Ligand. “Ligand acquired the OmniAb technology platform in January of 2016 and has since entered into multiple new licensing agreements for the technology. This IND filing represents continued value creation from the OmniAb acquisition and continues to build on Ligand’s shots-on-goal business model.”
Janssen gained access to the OmniAb platform in October of 2013 and is able to use the OmniRat®, OmniMouse® and OmniFlic® platforms to discover fully human mono- and bispecific antibodies. Ligand is eligible to receive development milestone payments and royalties for each product incorporating an OmniAb antibody. Janssen is responsible for all costs related to the programs.