Mechelen, Belgium; 19 April 2007 – Galapagos NV (Euronext & LSE: GLPG) announced today that its service division, BioFocus DPI, has entered into a new drug discovery collaboration with AstraZeneca (LSE, NYSE, OMX: AZN), a global pharmaceutical leader. This is the second program between the two companies under an agreement signed in August 2006. In this new collaboration, BioFocus DPI will perform medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry and supporting biology and ADMET services for an AstraZeneca drug discovery program. Total contract value for Galapagos is €620,000.
“Extending our existing partnership and securing further projects with AstraZeneca is a high priority for us,” said Onno van de Stolpe, Chief Executive Officer of Galapagos. “This latest collaboration demonstrates the positive working relationship and establishes our position as a proven partner specialized in drug discovery services.”
“BioFocus DPI’s commitment to delivering projects of high quality and on time has been the main driver of AstraZeneca’s decision to enter into a new agreement with BioFocus DPI. We have been pleased with the level of progress thus far and expect that BioFocus DPI’s expanded ADMET and predictive drug discovery capabilities will be key contributors in advancing this hit-to-lead program,” added Dr. Lars-Erik Arvidsson, Vice President R&D Lund, AstraZeneca.
Galapagos (Euronext Brussels, GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam, GLPGA; London AiM: GLPG) is a drug discovery company with clinical and pre-clinical programs in bone and joint diseases, cachexia, and menopausal hot flashes. 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 chemogenomics and ADMET[1] database products to select targets and compounds. Galapagos currently employs 450 people and operates facilities in eight countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More information about Galapagos and BioFocus DPI can be found at www.glpg.com and www.biofocusdpi.com.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $26.47 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4 Good Index. More information about AstraZeneca can be found at www.astrazeneca.com.
CONTACT
Galapagos NV
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
Tel: +31 6 290 980 28
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[1] ADMET is the acronym for Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity: Meeting parameters against these five criteria is critical to the success of a pharmaceutical compound as a drug.