Ligand Pharmaceuticals buys royalty interest in Santen's Ryjunea

By Bobby Samwell • Tuesday, September 22 14:21 • Permanent Link

Ligand Pharmaceuticals said it has bought an ascending tiered royalty interest in Santen’s Ryjunea from Sydnexis for $23 million upfront.

The deal gives Ligand rights to a low-double-digit to high-teens royalty on Ryjunea net sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, plus certain milestone payments. Sydnexis keeps U.S. and other non-Santen rights.

Ryjunea is a once-nightly atropine eye drop for slowing myopia progression in pediatric patients. It was approved by the European Commission in June 2025 and by the U.K. MHRA in October 2025.

Ligand said the product targets children ages 3 to 14 with progression of 0.5 diopters or more per year and myopia severity of -0.5 diopters to -6.0 diopters.

The company pointed to the market opportunity in Europe, where it said about 1 in 3 children and adolescents are projected to be affected by myopia by 2050, and Santen estimates 14 million patients were affected in 2025. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 0.48% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $291.455. Check out the company's full 8-K submission here.

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