Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc was acquired by Ligand Pharmaceuticals, itself and SBIR firm, in January 2010. The company is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel, low molecular weight drugs principally to treat diseases of the liver. Metabasis Therapeutics is developing small molecule drugs to combat liver and metabolic diseases. The company has three drugs in clinical trials for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, hepatitis B, and primary liver cancer. In addition, it has research programs that are centered on metabolic diseases linked to pathways in the liver (type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and obesity) and liver diseases (hepatitis C and liver fibrosis).