Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. has made a silent filing for aninitial public offering of 3 million shares of common stock witha proposed maximum price of $13 per share.

Ligand is developing small molecule drugs aimed at regulatinghormone-activated intracellular receptors to treat cancer andgynecological disorders. No products are expected to enter theclinic this year.

In May 1991, Ligand announced a five-year joint discoveryprogram with Pfizer Inc. to develop drugs to treat osteoporosisand other bone diseases. Pfizer has exclusive worldwidemarketing rights to any drugs developed under the program.

The San Diego company has raised $19.5 million in venturefunding since October 1987. Major equity holders are theSprout Group; Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers; VenrockAssociates; Enterprise Partners; Pfizer; Burr, Egan, Deleage &Co.; and Aspen Venture.

The number of shares that would be outstanding hasn't beendetermined. Underwriters Lehman Brothers, Hambrecht &Quist Inc. and Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. Inc. have a450,000-share overallotment option.

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