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==History==
==History==
Ligand Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1987 by [[Brook Byers]] and went public in 1992. Its first CEO was [[Howard Birndorf]], succeeded by David Robinson, both of whom focused on developing drugs based on [[orphan receptor|orphan]] [[nuclear receptors]]. By 2006 the company had reported no profits despite some of the drugs they developed having gained approval, and [[shareholder rebellion|dissident shareholders]], including [[Dan Loeb]], forced Robinson out. He was replaced as CEO by John Higgins in 2007. Higgins changed the company's strategy to one of acquiring candidate drugs and forming partnerships to develop them further.<ref name="Xconomy">{{cite news |last1=Bigelow |first1=Bruce |title=San Diego’s Ligand Takes Advantage of the Great Recession to Build New Drug Pipeline |url=https://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2011/03/25/san-diegos-ligand-takes-advantage-of-the-great-recession-to-build-new-drug-pipeline/ |accessdate=13 September 2018 |publisher=Xconomy |date=March 25, 2011}}</ref>
Ligand Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1987 by [[Brook Byers]] and went public in 1992. Its first CEO was [[Howard Birndorf]], succeeded by David Robinson, both of whom focused on developing drugs based on [[orphan receptor|orphan]] [[nuclear receptors]]. By 2006 the company had reported no profits despite some of the drugs they developed having gained approval, and [[shareholder rebellion|dissident shareholders]], including [[Dan Loeb]], forced Robinson out amid a massive investigation by the SEC.<ref name="Xconomy" /> He was replaced as CEO by John Higgins in 2007. Higgins changed the company's strategy to one of acquiring candidate drugs and forming partnerships to develop them further.<ref name="Xconomy">{{cite news |last1=Bigelow |first1=Bruce |title=San Diego’s Ligand Takes Advantage of the Great Recession to Build New Drug Pipeline |url=https://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2011/03/25/san-diegos-ligand-takes-advantage-of-the-great-recession-to-build-new-drug-pipeline/ |accessdate=13 September 2018 |publisher=Xconomy |date=March 25, 2011}}</ref>


According to a July 2018 report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Higgins is among the top five highest paid CEO's in San Diego.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/technology/sd-fi-ceopay-notebook-20180715-story.html|title=The story behind big pay days, and will Trump's tax cut impact CEO compensation?|last=Freeman|first=Mike|work=sandiegouniontribune.com|access-date=2018-09-13|language=en-US}}</ref>
According to a July 2018 report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Higgins is among the top five highest paid CEO's in San Diego.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/technology/sd-fi-ceopay-notebook-20180715-story.html|title=The story behind big pay days, and will Trump's tax cut impact CEO compensation?|last=Freeman|first=Mike|work=sandiegouniontribune.com|access-date=2018-09-13|language=en-US}}</ref>

Revision as of 12:23, 15 September 2018

Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: LGND
S&P 600 Component
IndustryBiopharmaceuticals
FoundedSeptember 1987
FounderBrook Byers[1]
HeadquartersSan Diego, California, USA
Key people
John Higgins
(CEO)
Revenue$48.1 million (2000)
Number of employees
20
WebsiteLigand.com

Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a small biopharmaceutical company located in San Diego, California.[2]

The company has been the subject of multiple regulatory investigations and class action lawsuits amid allegations of securities fraud.[3][4][5]

History

Ligand Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1987 by Brook Byers and went public in 1992. Its first CEO was Howard Birndorf, succeeded by David Robinson, both of whom focused on developing drugs based on orphan nuclear receptors. By 2006 the company had reported no profits despite some of the drugs they developed having gained approval, and dissident shareholders, including Dan Loeb, forced Robinson out amid a massive investigation by the SEC.[6] He was replaced as CEO by John Higgins in 2007. Higgins changed the company's strategy to one of acquiring candidate drugs and forming partnerships to develop them further.[6]

According to a July 2018 report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Higgins is among the top five highest paid CEO's in San Diego.[7]

2005-2007

In September 2005, the company was delisted by the NASDAQ following "accounting irregularities," that resulted in the company missing several deadlines for filing its financial statements.[8] The same month, Ligand announced it was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for it's financial reporting, which was characterized as "questionable," resulted in a "lengthy scandal" according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.[9][10] In October 2005, the company as well as the Board of Directors and certain officers were named as defendants in a shareholder derivative lawsuit alleging breach of fiduciary duty.[4] Shareholder lawsuits have also alleged that Ligand artificially inflated it's revenue by engaging in “channel stuffing.”[3] In June 2006, Ligand agreed to pay $12.2 million to settle a securities class-action lawsuit as well as related state and federal shareholder derivative lawsuits that alleged the company had engaged in accounting improprieties that led to a massive restatement of the company's financial reports.[3]

2014-2018

In 2014, Emmanuel Lemelson published five reports that made negative claims about Ligand that is thought to have contributed to the company's share price drop of 34 percent.[11] In September 2018, Lemelson was sued by the SEC for stock manipulation, allegedly making false statements about the company causing the share price to fall and profiting from a short sale.[11] In response, Lemelson stated the SEC suit had no merit.

In November 2016, The Shareholder Foundation filed a class action lawsuit against Ligand, alleging the company had engaged in securities fraud by making false and misleading statements, overstating the value of its assets, mis-classifying its debt, and by failing to maintain control over its accounting.[5] A separate class-action lawsuit, filed the same month, which named Ligand CEO John Higgins and CFO Matthew Korenberg, alleged, the company's "wrongful acts and omissions" led to a "precipitous" decline the market value of the company's stock and that the company's investors had suffered "significant losses and damages."[12]

In December 2016, Ligand was named as a defendant in multiple securities class action lawsuits, alleging the company had engaged in securities fraud by making false or misleading statements about its financial condition and its ability to control its reporting.[13][14]

In July 2018, Ligand was sued by investors, including Citadel, for $3.8 billion, alleging the company unfairly modified it's agreements with investors and never filed the amendment with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[15]

Portfolio and Partners

In September 2016 Financial media outlet CNBC reported that Ligand's stock fell 12 percent in one day after Amgen reported that Kyprolis, an Amgen indication that paid Ligand a royalty, did not outperform Takeda Pharamceuticals Velcade in a late-stage study.[16]

Captisol, a Ligand indication, is a chemically modified clathrate compound of the cyclodextrin class designed to improve solubility, stability, bioavailability and dosing of active pharmaceutical ingredients.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated History". Funding Universe.
  2. ^ "About :: Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LGND)". www.ligand.com. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  3. ^ a b c "Ligand to pay $12.2 million to settle lawsuits". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  4. ^ a b "LIGAND ANNOUNCES RECENTLY FILED SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE LAWSUIT". Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  5. ^ a b Inc., Shareholders Foundation,. "Lawsuit for Investors in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND) over alleged Violations of Securities Laws announced by Shareholders Foundation". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2018-09-12. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Bigelow, Bruce (March 25, 2011). "San Diego's Ligand Takes Advantage of the Great Recession to Build New Drug Pipeline". Xconomy. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  7. ^ Freeman, Mike. "The story behind big pay days, and will Trump's tax cut impact CEO compensation?". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  8. ^ "Ligand loses its listing on Nasdaq". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  9. ^ "Ligand Announces SEC Investigation". www.shareholder.com. September 12, 2005. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  10. ^ "SEC starts probe into Ligand's accounting". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  11. ^ a b Matt Robinson (September 12, 2018). "Hedge Fund Priest Sued by SEC for Alleged Stock Manipulation". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  12. ^ "Investors Sue Ligand Over Exaggerated Financials". 2016-11-19. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  13. ^ "Ligand Pharmaceuticals facing securities class action". Battea Class Action Services. 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  14. ^ "Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. Investigated For Securities Fraud By Block & Leviton After Announcing Restatement Of Financial Results". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  15. ^ "Ligand Pharmaceuticals Sued for $3.8 Billion Over Bond Terms". Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  16. ^ Vielma, Antonio José (2016-09-27). "Shares of Ligand plunge 12% after Amgen drug misses study goal". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  17. ^ "Captisol". Retrieved 11 July 2015.
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