Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical Announces Pricing of $400 Million Convertible Senior Notes Offering

Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical Announces Pricing of $400 Million Convertible Senior Notes Offering

JUPITER, Fla., Aug. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: LGND) (“Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical”) announced today the pricing of $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of 0.75% convertible senior notes due 2030 (the “notes”) in a private placement (the “offering”) to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical also granted the initial purchasers of the notes (the “initial purchasers”) an option to purchase, during a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the first date on which the notes are issued, up to an additional $60.0 million aggregate principal amount of notes. The sale of the notes is expected to close on August 14, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

The notes will be general unsecured, senior obligations of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical and will accrue interest payable semiannually in arrears on April 1 and October 1 of each year, beginning on April 1, 2026 at a rate of 0.75% per annum. The notes will mature on October 1, 2030, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.

Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical estimates that the net proceeds from the offering will be approximately $386.9 million (or approximately $445.1 million if the initial purchasers exercise their option to purchase additional notes in full), after deducting fees and estimated expenses. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical intends to use approximately $39.9 million of the net proceeds from the offering to pay the cost of the convertible note hedge transactions described below (after such cost is partially offset by the proceeds to Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical from the sale of the warrants in the warrant transactions described below). In addition, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical expects to use approximately $15.0 million of the net proceeds from this offering to repurchase 102,034 shares of its common stock from certain purchasers of the notes in privately negotiated transactions, as described below. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical expects to use the remaining net proceeds from the offering, together with cash on hand, for general corporate purposes including investing in complementary businesses, companies, products and technologies, although Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical has no present commitments or agreements to do so. If the initial purchasers exercise their option to purchase additional notes, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical expects to sell additional warrants to the option counterparties and use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the additional notes, together with the proceeds from the sale of the additional warrants, to enter into additional convertible note hedge transactions and the remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

Holders may convert their notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding July 1, 2030 only upon the occurrence of certain circumstances. On or after July 1, 2030 until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, holders may convert all or any portion of their notes at any time.

Upon conversion, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical will pay cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the notes to be converted and pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock or a combination of cash and shares of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock, at Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s election, in respect of the remainder, if any, of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the notes being converted. The conversion rate will initially be 5.1338 shares of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes (equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $194.79 per share of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock). The initial conversion price of the notes represents a premium of approximately 32.5% over the last reported sale price of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on August 11, 2025. The conversion rate will be subject to adjustment in some events but will not be adjusted for any accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, following certain corporate events that occur prior to the maturity date or if Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical delivers a notice of redemption, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical will, in certain circumstances, increase the conversion rate for a holder who elects to convert its notes in connection with such a corporate event or notice of redemption, as the case may be.

Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical may not redeem the notes prior to October 6, 2028. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical may redeem for cash all or any portion of the notes (subject to a partial redemption limitation), at its option, on or after October 6, 2028 and prior to the 51st scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, if the last reported sale price of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock has been at least 130% of the conversion price then in effect for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during any 30 consecutive trading day period (including the last trading day of such period) ending on, and including, the trading day immediately preceding the date on which Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical provides notice of redemption at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the redemption date. No sinking fund is provided for the notes.

If Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical undergoes a fundamental change (as defined in the indenture that will govern the notes), then, subject to certain conditions and limited exceptions, holders may require Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical to repurchase for cash all or any portion of their notes at a fundamental change repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date.

In connection with the pricing of the notes, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical entered into convertible note hedge transactions (the “convertible note hedge transactions”) with certain of the initial purchasers or their affiliates and certain other financial institutions (the “option counterparties”). Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical also entered into warrant transactions (the “warrant transactions”) with the option counterparties, pursuant to which Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical issued warrants to purchase Common Stock (the “warrants”) to such option counterparties. The convertible note hedge transactions are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution to Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock upon any conversion of notes and/or offset any cash payments Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be. However, the warrant transactions could separately have a dilutive effect on Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock to the extent that the market price per share of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock exceeds the strike price of the warrants. The strike price of the warrants will initially be $294.02 per share, which represents a premium of 100% over the last reported sale price of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on August 11, 2025, and is subject to certain adjustments under the terms of the warrants. If the initial purchasers exercise their option to purchase additional notes, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical expects to enter into additional convertible note hedge transactions and additional warrant transactions with the option counterparties.

In connection with establishing their initial hedges of the convertible note hedge transactions and the warrant transactions, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical expects the option counterparties or their respective affiliates to enter into various derivative transactions with respect to Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock and/or purchase shares of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the notes. This activity could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock or the notes at that time.

In addition, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock and/or purchasing or selling shares of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock or other securities of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the notes and prior to the maturity of the notes (and are likely to do so in connection with any conversion, redemption or repurchase of the notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock or the notes, which could affect a holder’s ability to convert its notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of notes, it could affect the number of shares of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock, if any, and value of the consideration, if any, that a holder will receive upon conversion of its notes.

In addition, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical expects to use approximately $15.0 million of the net proceeds from the offering to repurchase 102,034 shares of its common stock from certain purchasers of the notes in privately negotiated transactions effected through one of the initial purchasers or an affiliate thereof concurrently with the pricing of the notes. The agreed to price per share of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock repurchased in such transactions is equal to the last reported price per share of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock of $147.01 per share on the Nasdaq Global Market on August 11, 2025. These repurchases could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock prior to, concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the notes, and could have resulted in a higher effective conversion price for the notes. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical cannot predict the magnitude of such market activity or the overall effect it will have on the market price of the notes and/or the market price of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock.

This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall it constitute an offer to sell, solicitation of an offer to buy or sale of any securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as, but not limited to, “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “predict,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “project,” “potential,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions or variations intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements concerning the closing of the offering, the convertible note hedge transactions and the warrant transactions; the anticipated use of the net proceeds of the offering and the warrant transactions; and the potential impact of the foregoing or related transactions on dilution to holders of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock, and the market price of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s common stock and/or the notes are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors that are described more fully in Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s reports and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and other flings that Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical makes from time to time with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, and could cause actual results to vary from expectations. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof, and Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical undertakes no duty to update or revise this information, whether as a result of new information, new developments or otherwise, except as required by law. These statements are not guarantees of future performance but are based on management’s expectations as of the date of this press release and assumptions that are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements.

About Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical Pharmaceuticals

Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical is a biopharmaceutical company enabling scientific advancement through supporting the clinical development of high-value medicines. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical does this by providing financing, licensing its technologies or both. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s business model seeks to generate value for stockholders by creating a diversified portfolio of biotech and pharmaceutical product revenue streams that are supported by an efficient and low corporate cost structure. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s goal is to offer investors an opportunity to participate in the promise of the biotech industry in a profitable and diversified manner. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s business model is based on funding programs in mid- to late-stage drug development in return for economic rights, purchasing royalty rights in development stage or commercial biopharmaceutical products and licensing Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s technology to help partners discover and develop medicines. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical partners with other pharmaceutical companies to attempt to leverage what they do best (late-stage development, regulatory management and commercialization) in order to generate its revenue. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical operates two infrastructure-light royalty generating technology IP platform technologies. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutica’s Captisol® platform technology is a chemically modified cyclodextrin with a structure designed to optimize the solubility and stability of drugs. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s NITRICIL™ platform technology facilitates tunable dosing, permitting an adjustable drug release profile to allow proprietary formulations that target a broad range of indications. Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical has established multiple alliances, licenses and other business relationships with the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies including Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Jazz, Gilead Sciences and Baxter International.

Contacts
+447537185752
ingo@hovione.com

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Martine Zimmermann, Pharm.D.

Director
Dr. Zimmermann has extensive expertise in regulatory affairs at both small and large pharmaceutical organizations, having worked in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Throughout her career she has been involved in all phases of drug development and in several therapeutic areas, interacting with relevant regulatory authorities in key markets, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA). Dr. Zimmermann is currently the Senior Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs and R&D Quality at Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, a global biopharmaceutical company. Prior to Ipsen, Dr. Zimmermann spent 13 years at Alexion Pharma International where she held several positions including Senior Vice President and Head of Global Regulatory Affairs. She is an active member of several life-sciences trade associations and was a member of the Board of Directors of Caelum Biosciences from 2019 until its acquisition by AstraZeneca in 2021. She has been a board member of France-based Inventiva (Euronext Paris and Nasdaq: IVA) since 2021. Dr. Zimmermann received her Doctorate in Pharmacy (PharmD) with a specialty in immunology from the Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg in France.

Stephen L. Sabba, M.D.

Director

Stephen L. Sabba, M.D., has served as a member of our board since August 2008. Dr. Sabba has been a leading Bio/Pharma Analyst and Fund Manager for Knott Partners, L.P., an investment fund company, since November 2006. Previously, he was a Partner and Director of Research with Kilkenny Capital Management, a Chicago-based healthcare hedge fund. Prior to that, Dr. Sabba was Director of Research at Sturza’s Medical Research and previously was a gastroenterologist and internist in private practice at Phelps Hospital in North Tarrytown, New York. He received his M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in New York City. He earned a B.S. with honors from Cornell University. Dr. Sabba previously served on the Board of Directors of Novelion Therapeutics Inc., a leading Canadian biotech company from June 2012 to January 2020.

John L. LaMattina, Ph.D.

Director

John L. LaMattina, Ph.D., has served as a member of our board since February 2011. He spent 30 years at Pfizer Inc. with his last position starting in 2004 as President, Pfizer Global R&D. Dr. LaMattina began his career at Pfizer as a medicinal chemist in 1977. During his career, he was appointed to various positions of increasing responsibility for Pfizer Central Research, including Vice President of U.S. Discovery Operations in 1993, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Discovery Operations in 1998, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Development in 1999. Dr. LaMattina graduated with cum laude honors from Boston College with a B.S. in Chemistry. He received a Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire in Organic Chemistry and subsequently was at Princeton University in the National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship program. Dr. LaMattina is currently a senior advisor and board member at PureTech Health and serves on the boards of directors of Immunome, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, and several privately held biopharmaceutical companies. From 2013 until May 2020, Dr. LaMattina served on the board of directors of Zafgen, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, until its acquisition by Chondrial Therapeutics, Inc. and subsequent name change to Larimar Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. LaMattina also served on the scientific advisory board of Frequency Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotechnology company, which effected a reverse merger with Korro Biosciences in 2023. Dr. LaMattina is a contributing writer to Forbes magazine.

Jason Haas

Director

Jason Haas has served as a member of the board since June 2022. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Odyssey Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Odyssey, Mr. Haas was the Chief Financial Officer of Syros Pharmaceuticals, a Nasdaq-listed biotech company focused on developing oncology therapeutics, from October 2021 to November 2024. Prior to Syros, Mr. Haas spent over 25 years in healthcare investment banking, where he executed many strategic transactions and supported companies through equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, divestures, and spin-offs. Mr. Haas served as Co-Head of Americas Healthcare Banking at Barclays, Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Americas at Deutsche Bank and Managing Director of Healthcare Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Haas holds an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School and an A.B. in International Relations and Economics from Colgate University.

Nancy R. Gray, Ph.D.

Director

Nancy R. Gray, Ph.D., has served as a member of our board since August 2017. Dr. Gray has served as the President and CEO of Gordon Research Conferences (GRC), a non-profit organization focused on organizing international scientific conferences, since 2003. In her capacity as CEO of the GRC, she is dedicated to mentoring scientists at all stages of their careers by developing forums that promote meaningful conversations about barriers to career advancement and strategies to support professional growth and success. From December 1997 until August 2003 she served as the Director of Membership for the American Chemical Society. Prior to that, Dr. Gray worked as a Senior Research Scientist at Exxon/Mobil Research and Engineering, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation focused on researching oil and gas. Dr. Gray is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Chemical Society. She was a Research Fellow at the Foundation on Matter Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in Amsterdam and completed the Harvard Executive Education Finance for Senior Executives program. She has also authored or co-authored numerous scientific articles. Dr. Gray received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 and her Ph.D. in Fuel Science from The Pennsylvania State University in 1985.

Todd Davis

Director

Todd Davis is Chief Executive Officer of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical  and has served on the company’s Board of Directors since 2007. He has more than 30 years of operational and investment experience and has been involved in more than $4 billion in healthcare financings over his career.

Before joining Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical, Mr. Davis was a Founder and Managing Partner of HealthCare Royalty Partners (now HCRx), a global healthcare investment firm which grew from zero to approximately $4 billion in capital commitments during his tenure. He previously served as a partner responsible for biopharmaceutical growth equity investments at Apax Partners. Mr. Davis began his career in sales at Abbott Laboratories and later held leadership roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals in corporate development and general management.

Mr. Davis is a navy combat veteran and holds a BS from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on the boards of Palvella Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: PVLA), ViroCell Biologics, and Benuvia Holdings, LLC. He is a former board member of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association.

Jason M. Aryeh

Director

Jason M. Aryeh has more than 25 years of equity investment experience focused on the life sciences industry. He has served on the Board of Directors at Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical since September 2006, on the Board of Directors of Orchestra BioMed (Nasdaq: OBIO) since 2018, on the Board of Directors of LifeCore Biomedical (Nasdaq: LFCR) since August 2024, and on the Board of Directors at Anebulo Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ANEB) since March 2021. He is the Founder and Managing General Partner of JALAA Equities, LP, a private investment fund focused on the biotechnology and medical device sectors. He has served in such capacity since 1997. Mr. Aryeh has served as Chairman of the Board, on the Board of Directors or as a consultant to over fifteen public and private life sciences companies and charitable foundations, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Therapeutics board for seven years. Mr. Aryeh earned a B.A. in economics, with honors, from Colgate University and is a member of the Omnicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society in economics.

John W. Kozarich, Ph.D.

Chairman
John W. Kozarich, Ph.D., has served as a member of our board since March 2003. Since November 2021, Dr. Kozarich has been Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Marsal Therapeutics and since June 2022, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Paludatus Pharmaceuticals, LLC. Previously, he served on the Board of Directors at Curza Global, LLC, a biopharmaceutical company, from February 2019 through June 2024. Dr. Kozarich also serves as Distinguished Scientist Emeritus of ActivX Biosciences, Inc., and previously served as ActivX’s Chairman and President from 2004 through March 2017. From 1992 to 2001, Dr. Kozarich was vice president at Merck Research Laboratories and previously held professorships at the University of Maryland and Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Kozarich is also an adjunct professor of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Texas, Austin and serves on the board of Intec Pharma Ltd., a publicly traded biotechnology company. Previously, Dr. Kozarich served as a director of ActivX Biosciences Inc., Corium Intl, Novelion Therapeutics and Retrophin, Inc. He is also a recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award from the San Diego Section of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Kozarich earned his B.S. in chemistry, summa cum laude, from Boston College, his Ph.D. in biological chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard.

Ruben Flores-Saaib, Ph.D

Senior Director, Business Development

Ruben Flores-Saaib, Ph.D. is Ligand’s Senior Director of Business Development and brings to his role decades of experience leading teams working on commercialization and partnering programs in therapeutics, life sciences, diagnostics, artificial intelligence, materials, and software.

For 10 years, Dr. Flores-Saaib led Technology Transfer groups at LA BioMed (now the Lundquist Institute), USC and the University of California system. He joined Ligand from General Inception, where he served as Academic Innovations and Partnerships Lead spearheading efforts on new company formation and investment in therapeutics, synthetic biology and life sciences tools. He also held roles at BD Biosciences Pharmigen, Biosite (now Abbott), Chemicon (acquired by Serologicals), and MilliporeSigma.

Dr. Flores-Saaib received his Ph.D. from UCLA’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He is co-founder and former president of the San Diego Innovation Council and is a member of AUTM (the Association of University Technology Managers).

Michael Vigilante

Vice President, Investments and Business Development

Michael Vigilante is Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s Vice President of Investments and Business Development. He brings to his role over a decade of experience in life sciences investing, company building, and transaction advisory.

Mr. Vigilante joined Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical from life sciences investment firm Gurnet Point Capital, where he was a Senior Principal integrally involved across a range of investments and served on boards of directors. Prior to Gurnet Point, Michael worked in investment banking at MTS Health Partners, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and financings across the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare services sectors.

Mr. Vigilante graduated from the Vagelos LSM Program at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned both a BA in Biology and a BS in Economics from The Wharton School.

James Pipkin, Ph.D.

Vice President, New Product Development

James Pipkin, PhD, joined the company in 2011 following Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s acquisition of CyDex Pharmaceuticals. Since joining CyDex in 2001, Dr. Pipkin’s responsibilities have included development of new applications, intellectual property and products utilizing Captisol®, Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s cyclodextrin drug delivery technology for internal programs and assisting partners as well as scientific assessment of prospective technologies. He has directed and participated in 505(b)(2), Orphan and Biowaiver development programs.

Prior to joining CyDex, Dr. Pipkin was Executive Director for CMC Services at Oread Laboratories where he designed and directed ANDA and NCE development programs. He was also a Research Fellow with Merck Research Laboratories in the INTERx Research Division and West Point PR&D facilities, focusing on the design and evaluation of controlled-release devices for ophthalmic and oral delivery, and directed the pre-formulation activities for new chemical entities at The Squibb Institute for Medical Research.

Dr. Pipkin serves on the International Scientific Advisory Board to the International Cyclodextrin Symposium and previously served on the Board of Oculis ehf. He has contributed to numerous publications, presentations and patents and holds MS and PhD degrees from The University of Kansas in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and a BA in Mathematics and Chemistry from The University of Kansas.

Lauren Hay

Vice President, Strategic Planning and Investment Analytics

Lauren Hay is a Vice President of Strategic Planning and Investment Analytics at Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical. She brings over 15 years of experience in life sciences, serving in both consulting and private equity roles.

Ms. Hay built Hay Advisory Corporation, a successful boutique biopharmaceutical consulting practice spanning more than 50 clients and nearly 200 project engagements. Her client base included large global biopharmaceutical companies, early-stage biotech companies, and private equity firms. Prior to founding Hay Advisory, Ms. Hay served as the Vice President and later Director of Investment Analysis and Research at DRI Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm focused on pharmaceutical royalty monetization. She also spent several years as a Senior Consultant at The Frankel Group (now Oliver Wyman) in New York.

Ms. Hay earned her BA in Human Biology with Phi Beta Kappa Honors at Stanford University. She completed her MBA with Honors in Health Care Management at The Wharton School.

Karen Reeves, M.D.

Senior Vice President, Investments and Head of Clinical Strategy

Dr. Karen Reeves is Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s Senior Vice President, Investments and Head of Clinical Strategy. She brings to the role more than 20 years of experience in senior positions at top pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer Inc. She has extensive experience in Phase 1 through 4 drug development across multiple therapeutic areas, including neuroscience, oncology, immunology, pulmonary, cardiovascular, infectious diseases, vaccines, urology, women’s health, and rare diseases

Before joining Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical, Dr. Reeves served as President and Chief Medical Officer of AZTherapies, Inc., a private, late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on developing drugs for neuroinflammation and severe neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s and ALS. Before AZTherapies, Dr. Reeves held multiple leadership positions at Pfizer including Vice President, Worldwide Research and Development, Vice President, Worldwide Safety & Regulatory, and Head of Global Clinical Submissions Quality. During her tenure at Pfizer, she held leadership roles in several successful global development programs and approvals, including three marketed drugs in neuroscience, and served as team lead for the Prix Galien Award winner for Best Pharmaceutical (CHANTIX®). She previously served as Vice President and Head of Global Medical Science, at Astellas Pharma Inc., where she oversaw global medical physicians across therapeutic areas, including the clinical lead for XTANDI®, a prostate cancer treatment that was ultimately sold to Pfizer.

Dr. Reeves earned a B.A. from Yale University and an M.D. from the University of Vermont Medical School and has held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and Tufts University School of Medicine. She also collaborated with a private group on the creation of a documentary that helped win $2.5B in federal funding in 2023 for a new Agency NIH/US DHHS ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health), a DARPA-like group to drive high-risk, high-reward in health care.

Keith Marschke, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President, Biology and Scientific Affairs

Keith Marschke, PhD, joined Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical in 1994. He has had leadership roles in many of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s most successful internal and collaborative discovery and development programs, including the Thrombopoietin (TPO) Receptor Agonist, Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM), Glucagon Receptor Antagonist (GRA), and Captisol®-enabled Iohexol programs. He is currently leading clinical and scientific due diligence on Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s asset purchase (royalties) and project finance investments and monitors the clinical development of the partnered program portfolio.

Dr. Marschke has authored and contributed to numerous publications and patents during his tenure at Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical and held a postdoctoral research position in the Laboratories for Reproductive Biology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill prior to joining the company. He holds a PhD in molecular and cellular pathobiology from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University and earned a BS in Biology from Oklahoma Baptist University.

Paul J. Hadden

Senior Vice President, Investments and Business Development

Paul Hadden is Senior Vice President of Investments and Business Development at Ligand. Before joining the company, he spent more than 15 years at HealthCare Royalty Partners, a global healthcare investment firm, where he was responsible for business development, deal sourcing and structuring in the U.S. and Europe.

Prior to HealthCare Royalty Partners, Mr. Hadden served as a Principal at The Frankel Group (now Oliver Wyman), where he advised leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. Mr. Hadden began his career at New York-Presbyterian Hospital as a senior financial analyst.

Mr. Hadden holds a BA from Yale College and an MPH from the Yale School of Public Health. He is a former board member and vice president of The Association of Yale Alumni in Public Health (AYAPH).

Richard Baxter

Senior Vice President, Investment Operations

Richard Baxter is Senior Vice President of Investment Operations and a member of the Investment Committee at Ligand. He has worked across the healthcare landscape and brings to the firm decades of commercialization and investment experience, including control equity and minority equity investments, senior secured debt financings, royalty financings, public bank debt and bond transactions.

Mr. Baxter is a co-founder of the healthcare group for the Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund at Fortress Investment Group, which invested approximately $1 billion in emerging life sciences companies. He also previously served as co-head of the healthcare team at Hayfin Capital Management LLP, which deployed $1.4 billion in capital over four years. Before starting his investment career, he held senior operating roles in the pharmaceutical industry, including positions at PathoGenesis Corp., ViroPharma Inc., and SmithKline Beecham. He earned an AB (cum laude) from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Vince Antle, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President, Technical Operations and Quality Assurance

Vincent Antle, PhD, is a Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Quality Assurance at Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical. He joined the company in 2011, following Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical

’s acquisition of CyDex Pharmaceuticals where he joined in 2005. Dr. Antle is currently responsible for internal excipient product quality, operations, regulatory, quality assurance, distribution, and logistics for Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s Captisol® technology business. He has extensive experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing, the multiple patents covering the Captisol® technology and serves as a technical resource for safety and clinical studies.

Dr. Antle previously served as Technical Operations Manager and Head of Process Development at EaglePicher Pharmaceuticals Services from 1999 to 2005 and prior to 1999, Group Leader for the Combinatorial Chemistry Department of MDS Panlabs in Bothell, Washington. He holds a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati and earned his BA in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Minnesota, Morris.

Andrew Reardon

Chief Legal Officer

Andrew Reardon is Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s Chief Legal Officer, a role that he has held since 2022. He was previously a Vice President and Special Counsel to the company.

Before joining Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical, Mr. Reardon served as Chief Legal Officer at HealthCare Royalty Partners, a global healthcare investment firm, for more than 10 years. Prior to HealthCare Royalty Partners, Mr. Reardon was with the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where he focused on corporate transactions, including finance and mergers and acquisitions. He also served as an executive with Citibank from 1997 to 2000.

Mr. Reardon earned his JD from the University of Iowa College of Law, graduating with High Distinction and receiving the Alan I. Widiss Faculty Scholar Award. He also received his BA with honors from the State University of New York College at Old Westbury. Mr. Reardon is a former US Army National Guard infantry officer.

Tavo Espinoza

Chief Financial Officer

Tavo Espinoza is Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical’s Chief Financial Officer, a role he assumed after serving as the company’s Senior Vice President of Finance from 2019 to 2022 and Senior Director of Accounting from 2016 to 2019.

Prior to joining Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical, Mr. Espinoza served as Senior Director of Finance for Receptos, a publicly traded drug-discovery company working in the area of autoimmune diseases that was acquired by Celgene (now Bristol-Myers Squibb) in 2015. Before Receptos, Mr. Espinoza was Senior Director of Accounting for Illumina, a publicly traded life sciences analytics and genetics sequencing tools company. Prior to Illumina, he served as Senior Manager of Accounting at Intuit. Mr. Espinoza began his professional career in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, working as a Senior Accountant from 1996 to 2000.

He holds a BS in Business Administration from San Diego State University and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California.

Todd Davis

Chief Executive Officer

Todd Davis is Chief Executive Officer of Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical and has served on the company’s Board of Directors since 2007. He has more than 30 years of operational and investment experience and has been involved in more than $4 billion in healthcare financings over his career.

Before joining Hovione Lab Pharmaceutical, Mr. Davis was a Founder and Managing Partner of HealthCare Royalty Partners, a global healthcare investment firm which grew from zero to approximately $4 billion in capital commitments during his tenure. He previously served as a partner responsible for biopharmaceutical growth equity investments at Apax Partners. Mr. Davis began his career in sales at Abbott Laboratories and later held leadership roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals in corporate development and general management.

Mr. Davis is a navy combat veteran and holds a BS from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on the boards of Palvella Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: PVLA) and ViroCell Biologics. He is a former board member of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association.