EXHIBIT 99.1

                                                                        CONTACT:
                                                                    Abe Wischnia

                                           Senior Director of Investor Relations
                                                    and Corporate Communications
                                                                    858-550-7850

   LIGAND AND SRI/BURNHAM AGREE TO SETTLE PATENT INTERFERENCE ON TARGRETIN(R)

   --LIGAND STRENGTHENS TARGRETIN PATENT PROTECTION AND LOWERS ROYALTY RATE--
            --SRI/BURNHAM SIGNIFICANTLY EXTEND ROYALTY REVENUE TERM--

     SAN DIEGO, Calif.--March 14, 2005--Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
(Nasdaq:LGND) announced today that the company has reached a settlement
agreement in a recent patent interference action initiated by Ligand against two
patents owned by The Burnham Institute and SRI International but exclusively
licensed to Ligand. The company believes the settlement strengthens Ligand's
intellectual property position for bexarotene, the active ingredient in the
Targretin(R) products. The settlement also reduces the royalty rate on those
products while extending the royalty payment term to SRI/Burnham.

     The dispute involved a patent application owned by Ligand and two patents
owned by Burnham and SRI: U.S. Patent Numbers 5,466,861 and 5,837,725. These two
patents previously were licensed exclusively to Ligand and now will be assigned
to Ligand as part of the settlement.

     SRI and Burnham will concede before the United States Patent and Trademark
Office that Ligand has priority to all the disputed claims, i.e., the claims to
bexarotene. SRI and Burnham also agreed not to challenge the validity and/or
enforceability of any Ligand patents or applications that cover bexarotene,
including certain retinoid X receptor related patents or applications that
generically cover bexarotene and to cooperate in any Ligand enforcement actions
involving any Ligand patents covering bexarotene.




     Under the agreement, Burnham will have a research-only sublicense to
conduct basic research under the assigned patents and Ligand will have an option
on the resulting products and technology.

     In addition, Burnham and SRI agreed to accept a reduction in the royalty
rate paid to them on U. S. sales of Targretin under an earlier agreement. The
aggregate royalty rate owed to both SRI and Burnham by Ligand will be reduced
from four per cent to three per cent of net sales and the term of the royalty
payments extended from 2012 to 2016. If the patent issued on the pending Ligand
patent application is extended beyond 2016, the royalty rate would be reduced to
two per cent and paid for the term of the longest Ligand patent covering
bexarotene.

     "We are very pleased with this settlement which is a win-win for everyone,"
said Paul V. Maier, Ligand's senior vice president and chief financial officer.
"We believe it not only strengthens Ligand's intellectual property position, but
also improves our margins on Targretin sales. Burnham and SRI will receive
royalties for a longer period than under an earlier agreement, and reaching a
settlement avoids the cost, risk and management distraction related to a patent
interference. We acknowledge the considerable scientific contributions of SRI
and Burnham and their investigators over the years to the exciting field of RXR
science," Maier said.

ABOUT LIGAND

     Ligand discovers, develops and markets new drugs that address critical
unmet medical needs of patients in the areas of cancer, pain, skin diseases,
men's and women's hormone-related diseases, osteoporosis, metabolic disorders,
and cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. Ligand's proprietary drug
discovery and development programs are based on its leadership position in gene
transcription technology, primarily related to Intracellular Receptors (IRs).
For more information, go to www.ligand.com.





ABOUT TARGRETIN

     In December 1999, the FDA approved Targretin capsules for the treatment of
cutaneous manifestations of cutaneous t-cell lymphoma in patients who are
refractory to at least one prior systemic therapy. The European Commission
granted marketing authorization for Targretin capsules in March 2001, and the
product is currently marketed in many major European countries, including
Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. Targretin is in continuing
clinical trials in front-line, second-line, and third-line settings both in
combination and as a monotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties and reflect Ligand's judgment as of the date of this
release. These statements include those related to procedures in the U. S.
Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), strength of intellectual property positions
and protection from other patent challenges as well as margins and sales of
Targretin. Actual events or results may differ from our expectations. For
example, there can be no assurance that the PTO will accept the parties'
proposed actions or that it will not take some other action that might differ
from those proposed by the parties or that future patent challenges might not
impact the company's intellectual property position for bexarotene, nor that
Targretin will achieve any expected sales levels or margins. Additional
information concerning these and other risk factors affecting Ligand can be
found in prior press releases as well as in public periodic filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, available via www.ligand.com. Ligand
disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements
beyond the date of this release. This caution is made under the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.




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