Mechelen, Belgium and Harlow, UK; 4 October 2010 -Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced today that its affiliate, Argenta Discovery 2009 Limited, has entered into a drug discovery service agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (Janssen), aimed at delivering novel cancer drug candidates. Argenta will provide medicinal chemistry and biology for a number of Janssen oncology targets. The total contract value for Galapagos for the initial phase of the collaboration could exceed €33.5 M over a five-year period pending the achievement of certain milestones.
This fully integrated drug discovery service agreement calls for Argenta to perform hit-to-lead and lead optimization for a number of Janssen oncology targets, and also activities up to pre-clinical candidate selection. Janssen retains the option to extend the services beyond the initial set of targets, up to a total of 15 targets.
"We are seeing an increased demand for longer term, integrated deals in our services business, which access a variety of our drug discovery capabilities and with Argenta's strong track record of delivering on integrated drug discovery programs, we are well positioned to meet this growing need," said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos.
About Argenta
Argenta's contract research, which includes expertise in medicinal chemistry, computer-aided drug discovery, in vitro biology, analytics, in vivo pharmacokinetics, pharmacology and world-leading respiratory models, has a strong reputation for scientific excellence. Argenta was acquired by Galapagos in February 2010 and employs over 140 people in the UK with its main operations in Harlow. More info at: www.argentadiscovery.com
About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG; OTC: GLPYY) is a mid-size biotechnology company specialized in the discovery and development of small molecule and antibody therapies with novel modes-of-action. The Company is progressing one of the largest pipelines in biotech, with six clinical and over 50 small molecule discovery/pre-clinical programs. Through risk/reward-sharing alliances with GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Merck & Co., Roche and Servier, Galapagos is eligible to receive up to €3.3 billion in downstream milestones, plus royalties. Following the recent acquisition of the Zagreb research center, the Galapagos Group now has over 800 employees and operates facilities in seven countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More info at: www.glpg.com
CONTACT
Galapagos NV
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
Tel: +31 6 2909 8028
ir@glpg.com
Elizabeth Goodwin, Director Investor Relations
Tel: +31 6 2291 6240
ir@glpg.com
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