Mechelen, Belgium; 28 October 2010 - Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announces today that it has been awarded a €3.7 million grant from the Flemish agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT).
The three-year project "Disease-modifying drug discovery in cystic fibrosis" focuses on Galapagos' cystic fibrosis (CF) program based on novel drug targets, with the goal to deliver a pre-clinical candidate. Galapagos will collaborate on this project with the Center for Human Genetics at the KU Leuven.
"Galapagos is breaking new ground in CF with its novel targets. We are pleased that the IWT chooses to support these efforts. The collaboration with the Center for Human Genetics helps us to prioritize the novel targets which could make the most difference to CF patients," said Graham Dixon, SVP Drug Discovery for Galapagos. "This grant increases the chances of delivering a pre-clinical candidate by our target date of 2013."
About Galapagos' cystic fibrosis programs
Galapagos announced in March 2010 the decision to discover, develop, and launch medicines in orphan disease areas, with cystic fibrosis as the first indication. The CF Foundation and Galapagos entered a target discovery collaboration in 2005, which resulted in 19 novel disease-modifying targets that have been validated in the standard pre-clinical model for this disease. Galapagos secured all rights to these targets and has started to develop small molecule therapies against a select group of these targets. Galapagos will retain intellectual property and commercial rights on any compounds reaching the market. Galapagos aims to develop disease-modifying agents with clear efficacy benefits relative to existing CF therapies, which only treat the symptoms of the disease. A first pre-clinical candidate is scheduled to be nominated by 2013.
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. The Galapagos Group has over 800 employees and operates facilities in seven countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More info at: www.glpg.com
CONTACTS
Galapagos NV
Graham Dixon, SVP Drug Discovery
Tel: +32 473 86 87 51
Elizabeth Goodwin, Director Investor Relations
Tel: +31 6 2291 6240
ir@glpg.com
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