Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) and Channel Therapeutics (CHRO) said Thursday they have agreed to merge Ligand's Pelthos Therapeutics and LNHC subsidiaries with Channel's CHRO Merger Sub in a deal worth $50 million.

Upon the expected summer 2025 completion of the transaction, the new company will operate under the name Pelthos Therapeutics and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "PTHS," the companies said.

The merger will be backed by $50 million in capital raised from a group of investors that includes Ligand and a group of investors led by Murchinson, the companies said.

The new company will initially focus on commercializing Pelthos' US Food and Drug Administration-approved Zelsuvmi topical gel for the treatment of Molluscum contagiosum, a contagious skin infection, the companies said.