Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has entered into a Captisol(R)
supply agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. for an undisclosed program. Ligand
will supply clinical and commercial supplies of Captisol and, if the program is
approved for commercialization, expects to deliver multiple metric tons of
Captisol annually. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are extremely pleased to enter into a long-term commercial
supply agreement for this Captisol-enabled program,” said Matt Foehr, Executive
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Ligand Pharmaceuticals.
“This collaboration with Merck is a good example of the type of
relationships we try to build with our partners. Merck used Captisol to
reformulate a drug in their portfolio and performed initial proof of concept
under a research use agreement.” “This announcement marks the natural
transition of the program to a full commercial supply relationship as commercialization
approaches,” added Mr. Foehr. “This deal has the potential to add
meaningful revenue to the Ligand business in the coming years and extends the already
significant partnering relationship that we have developed with Merck over the
past few years.”