Ligand Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, CA, has acquired Apeiron Biologics AG, a Vienna, Austria-based private biopharmaceutical company, for $100 million. This acquisition provides Ligand with the royalty rights to QARZIBA®, a commercial oncology drug marketed in 35 countries by Recordati S.p.A.

Apeiron Biologics, led by CEO Peter Llewellyn-Davies, co-develops QARZIBA for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma in patients aged 12 months and older. Approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2017, QARZIBA is now available in over 35 countries.

Ligand, under the leadership of CEO Todd Davis, supports the clinical development of high-value medicines through funding mid- to late-stage drug development programs in exchange for economic rights, purchasing royalty rights in development stage or commercial biopharmaceutical products, and licensing its technology to partners.

The company has alliances and licensing agreements with numerous biopharmaceutical firms, including Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Jazz, Takeda, Gilead Sciences, and Baxter International.