Viking Therapeutics Inc (VKTX)

[Titan V]

Ligand's successful business model since the last 10 years has been to discover molecules, reformulate them, and eventually license them out for clinical development and commercialization to other pharmas. I agree that it is misleading to state that Ligand "failed to move" LGD-4033 forward.

From Ligand's website:

Ligand is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing or acquiring technologies that help pharmaceutical companies discover and develop medicines. Our business model creates value for stockholders by providing a diversified portfolio of biotech and pharmaceutical product revenue streams that are supported by an efficient and low corporate cost structure. Our goal is to offer investors an opportunity to participate in the promise of the biotech industry in a profitable, diversified and lower-risk business than a typical biotech company. Our business model is based on doing what we do best: drug discovery, early-stage drug development, product reformulation and partnering. We partner with other pharmaceutical companies to leverage what they do best (late-stage development, regulatory management and commercialization) to ultimately generate our revenue.

As for MRK, GTXi, the primary focus of their SARM collaboration was on treating muscle loss in cancer patients. A not so simple combination of conditions IMO. We don't know why they canceled their collaboration. MRK's priorities at the time might have changed. Maybe MRK didn't see a future in that particular indication. Anyway it doesn't look like MRK has given up on SARMs just yet.

A novel selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) MK-4541 exerts anti-androgenic activity in the prostate cancer xenograft R-3327G and anabolic activity on skeletal muscle mass & function in castrated mice.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27106747