File No. 28-06970

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                            SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
                           PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO
              SECTION 14(A) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

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[ ] PRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT

[ ] CONFIDENTIAL, FOR USE OF THE COMMISSION ONLY (AS PERMITTED BY
    RULE 14A-6(E)(2))

[ ] DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT

[ ] DEFINITIVE ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

[X] SOLICITING MATERIAL PURSUANT TO RULE 14A-12

                       LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED

                (Name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                                 THIRD POINT LLC

                         THIRD POINT OFFSHORE FUND, LTD.

                             THIRD POINT PARTNERS LP

                             THIRD POINT ULTRA LTD.

                           LYXOR/THIRD POINT FUND LTD.

                        THIRD POINT PARTNERS QUALIFIED LP

                                 DANIEL S. LOEB

                              BRIGETTE ROBERTS, MD

                                JEFFREY R. PERRY

    (Name of person(s) filing proxy statement, if other than the registrant)




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                            [Third Point Letterhead]


     October 25, 2005


     Dear Fellow Ligand Shareholders:

     As you may be aware from our recent Schedule 13D filings, Third Point LLC
     currently owns 7 million shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals common stock,
     representing approximately 9.5% of the shares outstanding. As Ligand's
     largest shareholder, we are very concerned about the Company's future.

     Over the last month we have communicated to management our belief that the
     Company is significantly undervalued in the market and that much more must
     be done to enhance shareholder value - business as usual is not sufficient.
     While we have urged management to complete its financial restatement as
     quickly as possible, we have expressed our belief that more fundamental
     factors have hurt Ligand's stock price. To ensure that our serious concerns
     are addressed by the Company, we demanded that we be given three Board
     seats, that a special committee be set up to explore and act on options to
     maximize shareholder value (on which we would have a significant presence),
     and that the Company eliminate its poison pill defense or, at the very
     least, increase the 10% threshold at which the poison pill would be
     triggered. We have also demanded that the Company promptly hold its 2005
     Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is long overdue.

     Our efforts for the benefit of all Ligand shareholders have met with
     resistance at the Company. As a result, on October 11th we filed a
     complaint in the Delaware Chancery Court to compel the Company to hold a
     meeting of stockholders for the election of directors. The Court has set a
     hearing for November 14th, at which we will argue that the Court should
     order a meeting to be held 60 days from the date of its decision.

     At the shareholders meeting, we plan to run either a full or partial slate
     of directors, depending on the actions the Company takes between now and
     then. We plan to file very shortly preliminary proxy materials with the
     SEC, which will nominate three Third Point representatives to the Ligand
     Board, who will represent a minority of Ligand's eight directors. If the
     Company does not support our nominees and agree to establish a special
     committee to explore and act on options to maximize shareholder value, we
     will supplement our proxy materials with five additional nominees and run a
     full slate of directors at the shareholders meeting. If we are successful
     in electing all or a majority of the Board, we intend to implement the
     plans that we have been urging the Company to pursue.

     We are writing this letter to let you know that while we are hopeful that
     the Company will release its delayed audited financials in the near future,
     and that it will announce the formation of a committee charged with
     maximizing shareholder value, these actions will not be sufficient to allay
     our already publicly-expressed concerns. We believe that the extensive
     experience of our nominees in both the financial and healthcare arenas can
     add significantly to the process of maximizing value for all shareholders,
     whether the final outcome be the sale of the Company in its entirety, the
     sale of the Company's business units separately, or some other value
     maximization strategy. Therefore, while we would clearly view Ligand's
     release of financials and the formation of a committee to enhance
     shareholder value as very positive steps, we would also view these as only
     the first steps in a comprehensive process that we believe would greatly
     benefit from our involvement and guidance.

     Once our preliminary proxy materials are filed with the SEC, we will seek
     to communicate with many of you directly, with the help of our proxy
     solicitors at Georgeson Shareholder Communications Inc.

     Sincerely,

     Third Point LLC



     Daniel S. Loeb
     Chief Executive Officer






     THIRD POINT STRONGLY ADVISES ALL STOCKHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ ITS
     PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
     INFORMATION, INCLUDING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN ANY SUCH
     PROXY SOLICITATION. ANY SUCH PROXY STATEMENT, WHEN FILED, AND ANY OTHER
     RELEVANT DOCUMENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEBSITE AT
     HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, STOCKHOLDERS MAY ALSO OBTAIN A COPY OF ANY
     SUCH PROXY STATEMENT, WHEN FILED, WITHOUT CHARGE, BY CONTACTING THIRD
     POINT'S PROXY SOLICITOR, GEORGESON SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS INC., AT ITS
     TOLL-FREE NUMBER: (888) 293-6729, OR AT PROXYINFO@GSCORP.COM.

     The following persons are anticipated to be, or may be deemed to be,
     participants in any such proxy solicitation: Third Point LLC, Third Point
     Offshore Fund, Ltd., Third Point Partners LP, Third Point Ultra Ltd.,
     Lyxor/Third Point Fund Ltd., Third Point Partners Qualified LP, Daniel S.
     Loeb, Brigette Roberts, MD and Jeffrey R. Perry. Certain of these persons
     hold direct or indirect interests as follows: Third Point LLC may be deemed
     to have beneficial ownership over 7,000,000 shares of common stock; Third
     Point Offshore Fund Ltd. owns 4,573,400 share of common stock; Third Point
     Partners LP owns 896,800 shares of common stock; Third Point Ultra Ltd.
     owns 691,700 shares of common stock; Lyxor/Third Point Fund Ltd. owns
     424,500 shares of common stock; and Third Point Partners Qualified LP owns
     413,600 shares of common stock. Daniel S. Loeb, as the managing member of
     Third Point LLC, may be deemed to beneficially own 7,000,000 shares of
     common stock. Brigette Roberts, MD and Jeffrey R. Perry have no direct or
     indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, required to be
     disclosed herein, except each such person's interest in being nominated and
     elected as a director of the Company.