Galapagos receives ?4 million in milestones from Servier in their osteoarthritis alliance
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Mechelen, Belgium; 15 December 2011 - Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced
today that it reached milestones in its osteoarthritis alliance with Servier,
resulting in payment of ?4 million from Servier.
In July 2010, Servier and Galapagos announced their alliance to develop new
medicines for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). Galapagos is responsible
for the discovery and development of new candidate drugs, and Servier has an
exclusive option to license these after the completion of Phase I clinical
trials by Galapagos.
"Galapagos achieved multiple milestones, including optimization of a molecule
against a novel OA target coming from our discovery platform," said Onno van de
Stolpe, Galapagos' CEO. "Success like this continues to help us finance
multiple shots on goal with novel proprietary targets in a number of disease
areas."
"We are very pleased with the progress of this alliance with Galapagos in
osteoarthritis, a tough disease to tackle with no existing disease modifying
treatment. This is in line with Servier's commitment to develop disease-
modifying drugs for sufferers of uncured diseases, such as OA, a debilitating
disease that affects 12% of the world population, leading to severe and costly
handicaps," said Bernard Marchand, Head of Discovery Research at Servier.
About Galapagos' osteoarthritis alliance with Servier
The alliance between Servier and Galapagos builds on novel osteoarthritis drug
targets discovered by Galapagos through its proprietary platform. For any
marketed products, Servier will have the rights to development, registration and
commercialization, but Galapagos retains exclusive U.S. commercialization
rights. Galapagos is also eligible to receive discovery, development,
regulatory and other milestone payments that could reach ?290 million, plus
royalties upon commercialization of products outside the U.S. covered under the
agreement.
Galapagos and Servier initiated a second alliance in oncology earlier this year.
About osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, typically affecting
people aged 45 and older. It is a degenerative disease characterized by joint
destruction and loss of cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers
the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over one
another. It also absorbs energy from the shock of physical movement. In OA,
the surface layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away. This allows bones
under the cartilage to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and loss of motion
of the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also, bone spurs
called osteophytes - may grow on the edges of the joint. Bits of bone or
cartilage can break off and float inside the joint space. This causes more pain
and damage. No currently available treatments prevent OA or even reverse or
block the disease process. Treatment of OA involves weight control, exercise,
and pain relief, most frequently with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) that relieve the symptoms without changing the course of the underlying
disease. Many OA patients have pain that persists despite these measures and
often then have to undergo costly surgical procedures to replace their damaged
joints. It is expected that with the aging of the population, more individuals
will be prone to develop OA. As mobility of seniors is of high importance to
maintaining a high quality of life, preventing the severity of OA is seen as an
immense clinical need over the next decade.
About Servier
Servier is a privately-run research based pharmaceutical company with a 2011
turnover of ?3.9 billion. Servier is dedicating 25% of its turnover to Research
& Development in cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological, psychiatric and bone
and joint diseases as well as oncology. Servier is established in 140 countries
worldwide with over 20,000 employees. More info at: www.servier.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 GLPG0634, as
well as one of the largest pipelines in biotech, with seven programs in
development and over 50 discovery programs. The Galapagos Group has over 800
employees and operates facilities in six countries, with global headquarters in
Mechelen, Belgium. More info at: www.glpg.com
CONTACTS
Servier : Galapagos NV
Servier Communication Department Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
Tel: +33 1 55 72 60 37 Tel: +31 6 2909 8028
presse(at)servier.fr ir(at)glpg.com
Elizabeth Goodwin, Director Investor
Relations
Tel: +31 6 2291 6240
ir(at)glpg.com
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements, including, without
limitation, statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates,"
"expects," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "could,"
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.
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Source: Galapagos NV via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1571564]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 15.12.2011 - 07:31 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 97267
Anzahl Zeichen: 7521
contact information:
Town:
Mechelen
Kategorie:
Business News
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