Ligand's march into obesity/diabetes

Ligand's march into obesity/diabetes Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. last week disclosed its plans to become a major player in the increasingly competitive obesity/diabetes field

LGND already has one of the broadest pipelines of the mid-tier biotechs, with programs in cancer, women's health, skin and metabolic diseases, osteoporosis, cardiovascular and inflammatory disease, and seven pharmaceutical company alliances. Now, in the area of diabetes and obesity, the San Diego, Calif., company has identified five key assets: its STATs leptin signal pathway, its PPAR signal pathway, its leptin (ob) gene promoter-based pathway, and its Targretin ( LGD1069 ) compound. In addition, LGND has buy-back rights to Allergan Ligand Retinoid Therapeutics Inc. 's RXR technology, including the compound ALRT268...