Ligand Earns $1.5 Million Milestone Payment as TAP Files IND for LGD2941

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has earned a $1.5 million milestone payment from TAP Pharmaceutical Products with TAP's submission of an investigational new drug application to the FDA to evaluate LGD2941 as a potential new therapy for the treatment of osteoporosis and frailty.

LGD2941 is a selective androgen receptor modulator developed as a result of a collaboration between Ligand and TAP. Ligand would receive additional milestones and up to double-digit royalty payments on sales if the compound continues through the development process and receives marketing approval.

A study published in the Journal of Gerontology in 2001 estimated that 6.9 percent of Americans age 65 and above (some 2.3 million people) are frail. The number of cases of male and female osteoporosis and osteopenia in the U.S. are estimated at about 55 million.