MECHELEN, BELGIUM, Jan 19 (MARKET WIRE) --
Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced today that it has expanded the
alliance in antibacterials and antivirals with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to
include three more discovery targets. For this expansion, Galapagos
receives a payment from GSK of EUR 2 million cash.
In December 2007, GSK and Galapagos initiated a program to discover and
develop novel anti-infective drug candidates for GSK's Infectious Diseases
Centre of Excellence in Drug Discovery (ID CEDD). Galapagos is responsible
for the discovery and development of natural product drug candidates
through to clinical Proof of Concept, at which point GSK will have
exclusive option to license each compound for further development and
commercialization on a worldwide basis. Today's agreement further broadens
the scope of the alliance between the two companies through the nomination
of three additional GSK targets.
Under the terms of the alliance, Galapagos could be eligible to receive up
to EUR 95 million in upfront fees, development and regulatory milestones
payments for each product candidate. If a product is commercialized,
Galapagos may receive up to EUR 120 million for achievement of specific
sales milestones. Galapagos is also eligible to receive up to double-digit
royalties on worldwide sales of alliance products.
"Following on the success and expansion of our osteoarthritis alliance, we
are pleased that GSK has also expanded the anti-infectives alliance to
include three additional targets," said Onno van de Stolpe, Chief
Executive Officer of Galapagos. "Together with the current programs
advancing toward the clinic, we aim to progress these new anti-infective
targets to deliver Phase IIa clinical candidates to GSK."
About infectious diseases
Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic micro-organisms such as
bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi. The diseases can be spread,
directly or indirectly, from one person to another[1]. Infectious diseases
are a leading cause of death worldwide. Existing therapies against
infectious diseases currently account for an estimated EUR 45 billion in
annual global sales[2]. The need for new therapies is on the rise due to
increasing resistance of micro-organisms to available therapies.
About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG; OTC: GLPYY) is a drug discovery company with
pre-clinical programs in bone and joint diseases and bone metastasis. Its
division BioFocus DPI offers a full suite of target-to-drug discovery
products and services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies,
encompassing target discovery and validation, screening and drug
discovery through to delivery of pre-clinical candidates. BioFocus DPI
also provides adenoviral reagents for rapid identification and validation
of novel drug targets, compound libraries for drug screening as well as
ADMET products to select compounds. Galapagos currently employs 460
people and operates facilities in six countries, with global headquarters
in Mechelen, Belgium. More information about Galapagos can be found at
www.glpg.com.
This release may contain forward-looking statements, including, without
limitation, statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates,"
"expects," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will,"
"could," "stands to," and "continues," as well as similar expressions.
Such forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which might cause the actual results,
financial condition, performance or achievements of Galapagos, or industry
results, to be materially different from any historic or future results,
financial conditions, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, the reader is
advised not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of
publication of this document. Galapagos expressly disclaims any obligation
to update any such forward-looking statements in this document to reflect
any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based,
unless required by law or regulation.
[1] http://www.who.int/topics/infectious_diseases/en/
[2] Source: GlaxoSmithKline Annual Report 2006
CONTACT
Galapagos NV
Onno van de Stolpe
CEO
Tel: +31 6 2909 8028
ir@glpg.com
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