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Ligand Provides Highlights from Today's Analyst Day EventSAN DIEGO --(Business Wire)-- At an Analyst Day event held earlier today in New York City, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) reviewed the financial leverage in its business model, revenue growth opportunities and its portfolio of partnered assets and unpartnered development programs, as well as its Captisol formulation technology and its financial outlook through 2017. "Ligand has transformed into a high-growth company with economic rights to some of the world's most important medicines. Our 'Shots-on-Goal' business model is stronger than ever and is projected to continue to drive the business significantly for the long-term," said John Higgins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ligand. "We currently have more than 100 programs fully funded by partners, economic rights to seven commercial products including two with blockbuster potential, and six major products in development. We project that more than 20 revenue-generating products will be on the market by 2020. All of this is being managed through a highly efficient infrastructure as evidenced by our projection for 2015 adjusted cash flow to be approximately 60% of our total revenue." Highlights of presentations by Ligand's senior management include the following: Business model and growth drivers:
Asset portfolio review:
Captisol review:
A webcast of the Analyst Day presentations can be accessed at www.ligand.com for the next 90 days. Non-GAAP Financial Measures The non-GAAP (U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measures discussed above exclude changes in contingent liabilities, mark-to-market adjustment for amounts owed to licensors, non-cash stock-based compensation expense and non-cash debt-related costs. Ligand believes that the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures provides useful supplementary information to investors and reflects amounts that are more closely aligned with the cash profits for the period as the items that are excluded from non-GAAP net income are all non-cash items. Ligand uses these non-GAAP financial measures in connection with its own budgeting and financial planning. These non-GAAP financial measures are in addition to, and not a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in conformity with GAAP. About Ligand Pharmaceuticals Ligand is a biopharmaceutical company with a business model that is based upon the concept of developing or acquiring royalty revenue generating assets and coupling them to a lean corporate cost structure. Ligand's goal is to produce a bottom line that supports a sustainably profitable business. By diversifying our portfolio of assets across numerous technology types, therapeutic areas, drug targets and industry partners, we offer investors an opportunity to invest in the increasingly complicated and unpredictable pharmaceutical industry. In comparison to its peers, we believe Ligand has assembled one of the largest and most diversified asset portfolios in the industry with the potential to generate revenue in the future. These therapies address the unmet medical needs of patients for a broad spectrum of diseases including diabetes, hepatitis, muscle wasting, Alzheimer's disease, dyslipidemia, anemia, asthma and osteoporosis. Ligand's Captisol platform technology is a patent protected, chemically modified cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the solubility and stability of drugs. Ligand has established multiple alliances with the world's leading pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Onyx Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Amgen Inc.), Merck, Pfizer, Baxter International, Eli Lilly & Co. and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. Please visit www.captisol.com for more information on Captisol. For more information on Ligand, please visit www.ligand.com. Follow Ligand on Twitter (News - Alert) @Ligand_LGND. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements by Ligand that involve risks and uncertainties and reflect Ligand's judgment as of the date of this release. Words such as "plans," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," and "will," and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding: Ligand's financial outlook; the potential for Ligand's commercial products and products in development; estimates of future R&D spending by Ligand's partners; potential for milestone events related to Ligand's asset pipeline; estimates of growth in the global multiple myeloma market; estimates of growth in the number of American women who are projected to have postmenopausal symptoms in the future; projections for future cash expenses, revenues, non-GAAP EPS, gross margins, adjusted cash flow margins and adjusted profit margins; expectations regarding the future utilization of Ligand's gross tax assets; and estimates regarding future global product sales by partners on which Ligand is entitled to receive royalty payments. Actual events or results may differ materially from Ligand's expectations. For example, Ligand may not receive expected revenue from material sales of Captisol, expected royalties on partnered products and research and development milestone payments. Ligand and its partners may not be able to timely or successfully advance any product(s) in its internal or partnered pipeline. In addition, there can be no assurance that Ligand will achieve its guidance for 2014 or its financial projections for future years, that Ligand's revenues and expenses will be at the levels or be broken down as currently anticipated, that Ligand will be able to create future revenues and cash flows by developing innovative therapeutics, that results of any clinical study will be timely, favorable or confirmed by later studies, that products under development by Ligand or its partners will receive regulatory approval, that there will be a market for the product(s) if successfully developed and approved, or that Ligand's partners will not terminate any of its agreements or development or commercialization of any of its products. Further, Ligand may not generate expected revenues under its existing license agreements and may experience significant costs as the result of potential delays under its supply agreements. Also, Ligand and its partners may experience delays in the commencement, enrollment, completion or analysis of clinical testing for its product candidates, or significant issues regarding the adequacy of its clinical trial designs or the execution of its clinical trials, which could result in increased costs and delays, or limit Ligand's ability to obtain regulatory approval. Further, unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of Ligand's product(s) could delay or prevent regulatory approval or commercialization. In addition, Ligand may not be able to successfully implement its strategic growth plan and continue the development of its proprietary programs. The failure to meet expectations with respect to any of the foregoing matters may reduce Ligand's stock price. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors affecting Ligand can be found in prior press releases available at www.ligand.com as well as in public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov. Ligand disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements beyond the date of this press release. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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