Ligand Pharmaceuticals Appoints New CFO, Todd Simon

TL;DR

Ligand Pharma gets a new CFO, Todd Simon, starting July 1st. Riordan moves to advisor.

AI Summary

On June 18, 2024, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the appointment of Todd Simon as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective July 1, 2024. Simon will succeed Michael H. Riordan, who will transition to a senior advisor role. Simon previously served as CFO at Amneal Pharmaceuticals and has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry.

Why It Matters

The appointment of a new CFO can signal strategic shifts or a focus on financial stewardship, impacting investor confidence and the company's financial direction.

Risk Assessment

Risk Level: low — This filing is a routine executive appointment and does not involve significant financial or operational changes that would inherently increase risk.

Key Players & Entities

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (company) — The company making the announcement.
• Todd Simon (person) — Newly appointed Chief Financial Officer.
• Michael H. Riordan (person) — Outgoing Chief Financial Officer transitioning to senior advisor.
• Amneal Pharmaceuticals (company) — Previous employer of Todd Simon.
• July 1, 2024 (date) — Effective date of Todd Simon's appointment.
• June 18, 2024 (date) — Date of the filing.

FAQ

Key Financial Figures

• $0.001 — ich registered Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share LGND The Nasdaq Global Market
• $2 million — arrier protein, Ligand is entitled to a $2 million milestone payment upon FDA approval of
• $30 million — soticlestat. In return, Ovid received a $30 million payment, less certain reimbursable expe

Filing Documents

• lgnd-20240618.htm (8-K) — 25KB
• 0000886163-24-000047.txt ( ) — 148KB
• lgnd-20240618.xsd (EX-101.SCH) — 2KB
• lgnd-20240618_lab.xml (EX-101.LAB) — 22KB
• lgnd-20240618_pre.xml (EX-101.PRE) — 13KB
• lgnd-20240618_htm.xml (XML) — 3KB

01 Other Events

Item 8.01 Other Events. Merck CAPVAXIVE FDA Approval On June 17, 2024, Merck issued a press release announcing that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved CAPVAXIVE, previously known as V116, a pneumococcal 21-valent conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia in adults. CAPVAXIVE utilizes the PeliCRM197 carrier protein which helps enhance antigen immunogenicity in conjugate vaccines. PeliCRM197 is produced using the Pfenex Expression Technology platform which Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated ("Ligand") initially acquired in 2020 and ultimately spun out to Primrose Bio, Inc. in September 2023. Pursuant to the Commercial License Agreement between Pfenex Inc. and Merck regarding the CRM197 carrier protein, Ligand is entitled to a $2 million milestone payment upon FDA approval of CAPVAXIVE and a royalty on worldwide net sales. Takeda Soticlestat Announcement On June 17, 2024, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited issued a press release announcing Phase 3 topline results for soticlestat (TAK-935), the company's investigational, first-in-class potent and selective inhibitor of cholesterol 24-hydroxylase, an enzyme primarily expressed in the brain that catabolizes cholesterol to 24-S hydroxycholesterol, resulting in a reduction in glutamatergic hyperexcitability, for patients with Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. Takeda's SKYLINE study in Dravet Syndrome narrowly missed its primary endpoint of reduction in convulsive seizure frequency and showed clinically meaningful and nominally significant effects in multiple key secondary efficacy endpoints. Takeda's SKYWAY Study in Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome missed its primary endpoint of reduction in major motor drop seizures. As previously disclosed on October 18, 2023, Ligand acquired from Ovid Therapeutics ("Ovid") a thirteen percent portion of the royalties and milestones owed to Ovid related to the potential approval and commercialization of

SIGNATURES

SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED Date: June 18, 2024 By: /s/ Andrew Reardon Name: Andrew Reardon Title: Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

View Full Filing

View this 8-K filing on SEC EDGAR