Ligand Pharma turns to a SPAC to take antibody biz public, raise up to $266M

OmniAb, the antibody division of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, is set to go public through a SPAC merger that will infuse the business with up to $266 million. The deal comes as traditional IPOs have mostly ground to a halt due to uncertain market conditions, but Ligand is making a longer-term bet on growing demand for antibody drug discovery services.