12:24 PM EDT, 05/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Ligand Pharmaceuticals ( LGND ) and Agenus ( AGEN ) said Tuesday they have signed a royalty financing agreement to support the clinical development of Agenus' ( AGEN ) botensilimab and balstilimab, including a confirmatory phase 3 trial in metastatic, relapsed or refractory colorectal cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ligand will pay $75 million to Agenus ( AGEN ) at closing in exchange for pre-set portions of future royalty and milestone payments related to the botensilimab/balstilimab program and five other partnered oncology programs with Incyte (INCY), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Merck (MRK), and UroGen Pharma (URGN).

Ligand also has the option to invest an additional $25 million in Agenus ( AGEN ) on the same terms, the companies said, adding the transaction also allows syndication of up to $125 million to bring the total potential capital infusion to up to $200 million.

Ligand shares were more than 2% higher in midday trading Tuesday while Agenus ( AGEN ) shares tumbled over 7%.

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