Ligand Pharmaceuticals will acquire OMT (Open Monoclonal Technology) for approximately $178 million, including $92.6 million in cash and $85.4 million in Ligand common stock.

According to Ligand, OMT has leading antibody drug discovery technology and is believed to be the only company in the world offering three transgenic animal platforms for license. OMT has existing licenses with Amgen, Celgene, Genmab, Janssen, Merck KGaA, Pfizer, Seattle Genetics, Five Prime, Symphogen and various other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Through the acquisition, Ligand is acquiring 16 platform partnerships and antibody-specific licenses. The OMT business is projected to add $6 million and $12 million of revenues to Ligand in 2016 and 2017, respectively. This revenue is based on existing licensing contracts and potential payments, and does not include revenue from potential new partnerships and programs.

OMT is privately held and is majority owned by Essex Woodlands. Roland Buelow, Ph.D., founder of OMT, is expected to join Ligand as vice president of antibody technologies and continue working with Ligand on advancing the OMT business.

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