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Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.

LGND.US | Research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and acquiring technologies that help pharmaceutical companies discover and develop medicines. Ligand partners with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, providing them with its drug discovery and dev...Show More

Ethical Profile

Mixed.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a mixed ethical profile. The company significantly contributes to public health, with several drugs developed using its technology, including ZELSUVMI™ and others, receiving FDA approval in 2024. Royalty revenue grew 28% to $108.8 million in FY 2024, reflecting market adoption. However, critics point to Ligand's environmental performance, with a DitchCarbon score of 23, lower than 83% of the industry, and no public carbon emissions data or reduction targets. Ligand also conducts pre-clinical animal testing, though specific data on volume or alternative methods is limited. Its upstream role means direct control over drug pricing and accessibility is constrained.

Value Scores

Better Health for All0
-100100
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity0
-100100
Fair Pay & Worker Respect20
-100100
Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing0
-100100
Honest & Fair Business0
-100100
Kind to Animals-60
-100100
No War, No Weapons0
-100100
Planet-Friendly Business-30
-100100
Respect for Cultures & Communities0
-100100
Safe & Smart Tech0
-100100
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products-40
-100100

Better Health for All

0

Ligand Pharmaceuticals' core business is focused on developing and acquiring technologies that enable pharmaceutical companies to discover and develop medicines, with its entire business devoted to health improvement. The company's revenue is derived from royalties and fees from partners' sales of drugs, none of which are indicated to have well-established negative health outcomes.

1
For ZELSUVMI™, a product enabled by Ligand, clinical trial data showed common application site reactions (≥1%), including pain (18.7%), erythema (11.7%), and pruritus (5.7%).
2
Prescribing information for ZELSUVMI™ is made available on its dedicated website.
3
The company's business model does not involve holding healthcare-related patents directly, nor does it produce products with addiction potential or directly conduct clinical trials.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

0

No evidence available to assess Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated on Fair Money & Economic Opportunity.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

20

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported a CEO pay ratio of 34:1 in 2024.

1
This ratio is based on the CEO's total compensation of $12,914,980 and a median employee pay of $383,432.
2

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

0

No evidence available to assess Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated on Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing.

Honest & Fair Business

0

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles to assess Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated against the quantitative thresholds for any of the 'Honest & Fair Business' KPIs. Information regarding historical financial restatements (2003/2005) and a fine against a former auditor (Deloitte) are not relevant to the specified timeframes or the company itself for the respective KPIs.

1
While there is evidence of a CEO recusing himself from a board decision due to a conflict of interest,
2
this does not provide a percentage of the entire board free from conflicts.

Kind to Animals

-60

Ligand Pharmaceuticals conducts animal testing for medical analysis and clinical research, including pre-clinical trials on laboratory animals.

1
Its OmniAb platform specifically uses transgenic animals (OmniRat, OmniChicken, OmniMouse) for *in vivo* antibody optimization, with no evidence of non-animal testing methods being employed.
2
The company's animal testing policy prohibits discretionary testing but allows legal mandates to override alternatives. Ligand is listed on Cruelty Free Investing for exploiting animals, and Sustainalytics notes its engagement in animal testing.
3
The company uses between 25,000 and 50,000 animals annually for testing, with no transparent reduction targets mentioned.

No War, No Weapons

0

No evidence available to assess Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated on No War, No Weapons.

Planet-Friendly Business

-30

Ligand Pharmaceuticals adopted an Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) policy in September 2021, committing to environmental excellence and regulatory compliance.

1
The company manages resource use to reduce environmental impact, including carbon emissions where possible, and established the Ligand Environmental Action Force (LEAF) in 2020 for conservation initiatives.
2
Risk identification, monitoring, mitigation, emergency preparedness, and incident management plans are in place.
3
The company's code of conduct and ethics policy extends to suppliers and business partners.
4
Across all provided articles, there are no mentions of regulatory actions, violations, fines, or compliance issues, indicating zero environmental compliance violations.
5
However, no specific quantitative data on other environmental performance metrics such as carbon emissions, renewable energy use, water consumption, waste diversion, or green building certifications is publicly available.
6

Respect for Cultures & Communities

0

No evidence available to assess Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated on Respect for Cultures & Communities.

Safe & Smart Tech

0

No specific, concrete evidence was found across any of the provided articles to assess Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated against the 'Safe & Smart Tech' ethical value.

1
All articles explicitly state that no relevant data was found for any of the KPIs, leading to the omission of all KPIs from the scoring.
2

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

-40

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has implemented several waste reduction initiatives, including green initiatives, expanded recycling and disposal programs for corporate, laboratory, and electronic waste, and employee programs for conservation, recycling, and disposal.

1
The company also donates surplus equipment and materials obtained through acquisitions to institutions of higher education and has begun installing low-voltage lighting.
2
Ligand has finalized safety programs and conducts regular safety meetings and inspections, with procedures to reduce potential harmful effects of biologics.
3
The company has had no waste disposal violations in the past three years. Additionally, Ligand applies environmental standards to its suppliers and vendors.
4

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AI-generated analysis based on publicly available data. Not financial advice. Ratings are expressions of opinion derived from automated models and may contain inaccuracies. See our Risk Disclosure for full details.