Ligand Commits Upto $47 Mln To AvenCell Cancer Cell Therapy

(RTTNews) - Thursday, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LGND) announced a financing agreement with AvenCell Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company, for upto $47 million, helping advance the latter's pipeline, which includes AVC-201 for the treatment of relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and AVC-203 for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. As per the terms of the deal, Ligand has committed up to $41 million in exchange for a mid-single-digit to low double-digit royalty on worldwide annual net sales of all current and future AvenCell pipeline assets, including AVC-201 and AVC-203, with the applicable rate determined based on the total amount ultimately funded.