TG Therapeutics (TGTX) Enters License Agreement for IRAK4 with Ligand (LGND); Will Get Stock + Milestones

TG Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: TGTX), announced an agreement with Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: LGND) to license exclusive global rights to develop and commercialize Ligand's IRAK4 inhibitor research program. Interleukin-1 Receptor Associated Kinase 4, referred to as IRAK4, is a key signaling kinase that becomes inappropriately activated in tumors that carry certain oncogenic mutations of MYD88, which can be found in most patients with Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia, a rare B-cell cancer, as well as in a sub-set of patients with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Additionally, IRAK4 is a key component of signaling pathways which regulate immune and inflammatory processes suggesting that inhibition of IRAK4 may also be useful in the treatment of autoimmune related disorders. The IRAK4 program is currently in pre-clinical development.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ligand will receive an up-front licensing fee of 125,000 unregistered shares of TG Therapeutics' common stock. In addition, TG will make development and sales-based milestone payments and will pay a tiered, mid-to-high single digit royalty on net sales.

Mr. Michael S. Weiss, Executive Chairman, Interim CEO and President stated, "We are excited to add the IRAK4 program to our portfolio. Pre-clinical models suggest inhibition of IRAK4 could provide therapeutic benefit in patients with certain B-cell malignancies. We were very impressed with Ligand's IRAK4 program and their team's ability to identify potent and selective inhibitors of IRAK4 and we look forward to carrying forward their work. While still early, the addition of the IRAK4 program complements our existing portfolio that target B-cell malignancies and disorders and can potentially be used alone or in combination with our existing product candidates in a genetically-defined subset of patients."

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