John Higgins served as a director and Chief Executive Officer at Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated from January 2007 to December 2022. Prior to joining Ligand, Mr. Higgins served as Chief Financial Officer at Connetics Corporation (Connetics), a specialty pharmaceutical company, since 1997, and also served as Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration and Corporate Development at Connetics until its acquisition by Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. in December 2006. Before joining Connetics, he was a member of the executive management team at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to BioCryst, Mr. Higgins was a member of the healthcare banking team of Dillon, Read & Co. Inc., an investment banking firm. Mr. Higgins serves on the board of directors, of Bio-Techne Corporation , a publicly-traded life sciences services company, and he is a trustee of the Walker Art Center. Mr. Higgins has served as a director on numerous public and private companies. Mr. Higgins graduated Magna Cum Laude from Colgate University with an A.B. in economics. Mr. Higgins executive experience operating and managing public biotechnology companies, his prior service on other company boards and his financial transaction experience as an investment banker in the biopharmaceutical industry contributed to our board of directors conclusion that he should serve as a director of our company.