Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership (3)

FORM 3	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5
	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person ^*

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC

2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY) 2/3/2020

3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol

LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INC [LGND]

(Last) (First) (Middle)

200 WEST STREET

4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable)

_____ Director ___X___ 10% Owner
_____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)

(Street)

NEW YORK, NY 10282

(City) (State) (Zip)

5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(MM/DD/YYYY)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)

___ Form filed by One Reporting Person
_X_ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Units	686330	I	See footnote ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

*Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)*
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YYYY)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares	4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security		6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Convertible Bonds	5/11/2023 ⁽³⁾	5/15/2023	Common Units	173246.44 ⁽³⁾	$248.48	I	See footnotes ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾
Options	⁽⁴⁾	⁽⁴⁾	Common Units	1207320 ⁽⁴⁾	$315.38	I	See footnotes ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

Explanation of Responses:
(1)	This statement is being filed by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ("GS Group") and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC ("Goldman Sachs" and together with GS Group, the "Reporting Persons"). Goldman Sachs is a subsidiary of GS Group. Each Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities reported herein except to the extent of its pecuniary interest therein. On February 4, 2020, the Reporting Persons experienced a decrease in their beneficial ownership that reduced their beneficial ownership to below 10% due to a reduction in excess securities borrows.
(2)	The Common Units of the Issuer reported herein as indirectly purchased were beneficially owned directly by Goldman Sachs and indirectly by GS Group.
(3)	Goldman Sachs may exchange all or a portion of its convertible bonds for Common Units of the Issuer on a 1 - for - 4.0244 basis.
(4)	Goldman Sachs may exercise all or a portion of the options at any time during the conversion period between August 15, 2023 and February 6, 2024 for Common Units of the Issuer on a 1 - for - 1 basis.

Reporting Owners
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 200 WEST STREET NEW YORK, NY 10282		X
GOLDMAN SACHS & CO. LLC 200 WEST STREET NEW YORK, NY 10282		X

Signatures
/s/ Nathan R. Burby, Attorney-in-fact		2/14/2020
^**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
/s/ Nathan R. Burby, Attorney-in-fact		2/14/2020
^**Signature of Reporting Person		Date