Ligand Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company, has entered into a commercial license and supply agreement with Amgen, granting rights to use Ligand’s Captisol technology in the formulation of AMG 330, an anti-CD33 x anti-CD3 bispecific antibody construct being investigated as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia.

Captisol is a chemically modified cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the solubility and stability of drugs.

This license agreement replaces the prior research agreement that allowed Amgen to evaluate AMG 330 with Captisol in preclinical and early clinical studies. Under this new commercial license agreement, Amgen receives exclusive worldwide rights to combine Captisol with AMG 330 for use in humans for a wide variety of therapeutic indications.

In addition to an upfront payment, Ligand is entitled to potential milestone payments, royalties, and revenue from future sales of AMG 330 formulated using Captisol.

Source: Ligand Pharmaceuticals