| Galapagos
expands chemistry services through contracts with Indian companies
Indus BioSciences and Sanmar Speciality Chemicals to support
BioFocus DPI
Mechelen,
Belgium; 23 June, 2006 – Galapagos NV (Euronext & LSE:
GLPG), a genomics-based drug discovery company, announced today
that its service division BioFocus DPI has signed collaborations
with Indus Biosciences, a subsidiary of CiVentiChem LLC in Hyderabad,
and ProCitius, a division of Sanmar Speciality Chemicals Limited
in Chennai, both providers of integrated chemistry services to life
sciences companies. Both companies will carry out chemistry services
for the BioFocus DPI Discovery Products division, with an option
to provide support for client projects conducted by the BioFocus
DPI Medicinal Chemistry division.
India
offers chemistry capabilities with a large resource pool of qualified
chemists. Many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies either
have established their own facilities in India, or outsourced part
of their chemistry to India-based contract research organizations.
This outsourcing enables BioFocus DPI and its partners to benefit
from the excellent cost-effective chemistry services available on
the Indian sub-continent, while also enabling its clients to outsource
work into Indus BioSciences and Sanmar under the management of BioFocus
DPI scientists.
“These
strategic outsourcing agreements with CiVentiChem and Sanmar complement
our acquisition of DPI’s drug discovery operations,”
said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. “Our therapeutic
programs, the alliance with GSK and the continuing growth of the
BioFocus DPI customer base demand access to additional chemistry
resources, and this is a timely move to ensure cost-effective capacity
moving forward.”
"We
are very pleased that Galapagos and BioFocus DPI have chosen CiVentiChem
and its subsidiary Indus Biosciences for our value-added services
in discovery R&D chemistry and custom synthesis to complement
their internal capabilities,” said Bhaskar Venepalli, PhD,
President and CEO of CiVentiChem.
“We
are delighted to collaborate with BioFocus DPI. We believe that
the target discovery and drug discovery services of BioFocus DPI
would be well complemented by the chemistry research skills of ProCitius,
enabling this partnership to deliver immense value to life sciences
companies,” said Murli Ramachandran, Managing Director, Sanmar
Speciality Chemicals Ltd.
About
Galapagos
Galapagos
is a publicly traded, genomics-based drug discovery company (Euronext
Brussels, GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam, GLPGA, London AiM: GLPG) that
has drug discovery programs based on proprietary, novel targets
in bone and joint diseases - osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid
arthritis. Galapagos offers a full suite of target-to-drug discovery
products and services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies through
its division BioFocus DPI, encompassing target discovery and drug
discovery services through to delivery of pre-clinical candidates.
In addition, BioFocus DPI provides adenoviral reagents for rapid
identification and validation of novel drug targets and compound
libraries for drug screening. Galapagos currently employs more than
320 people, including 144 PhDs, and operates facilities in seven
countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More information
about Galapagos and BioFocus DPI can be found at www.glpg.com.
About CiVentiChem
CiVentiChem
is a rapidly growing CRO company offering medicinal chemistry and
custom synthesis services in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
and through its subsidiary Indus Biosciences, located in Hyderabad,
India. Since its formation in 1994, CiVentiChem has established
excellent working relationships with numerous leading pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies. More information about the capabilities
of CiVentiChem and Indus Biosciences can be obtained at www.cvchem.com
and www.indusbio.com.
About
Sanmar
Sanmar
Speciality Chemicals is a member of the Sanmar Group, one of India's
most respected business houses. Through its research arm, ProCitius
Research, with its state-of-the-art facilities, it offers world
class services in contract research and custom synthesis. It has
an impressive track record with major pharmaceutical and chemical
manufacturers in Europe and the United States of America. More information
about the capabilities of Sanmar Speciality Chemicals can be obtained
at the web site, www.sanmargroup.com/SSCLmain.htm.
CONTACT
Galapagos
NV
Onno van de Stolpe
CEO
Tel: +31 6 2909 8028
ir@glpg.com
CiVentiChem
Bhaskar Venepalli, PhD
President and CEO
Tel: +1 919 678 0704
bhaskar@cvchem.com
Indus
Biosciences
V. Venkataiah, PhD
Managing Director
Tel: +91 40 2717 1045
venkat@indusbio.com
Sanmar
Speciality Chemicals Ltd.
Murli Ramachandran
Managing Director
Tel: +91 44 2812 8210
mr19@sanmargroup.com
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