 SAN DIEGO--BUSINESS WIRE--Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated NASDAQ: LGND today reported that the company will receive a 1.5 million milestone payment from Merck triggered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations FDAs acceptance for review of a biologics license application BLA for V114, an investigational 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate for the prevention of pneumococcal disease in adults. This collaboration with Merck is one of the core assets that catalyzed o 