MECHELEN, BELGIUM--(Marketwire - January 16, 2013) - Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced
today that it has identified a second pre-clinical compound in its alliance
with
Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. This achievement triggered a milestone payment
of EUR4
million to Galapagos.
In 2007, Galapagos announced an alliance agreement with Janssen
Pharmaceutica NV
providing it with option rights to acquire worldwide, commercial
licenses to
certain Galapagos internal programs. The milestone announced today
relates to
the delivery of a second pre-clinical candidate developed by Galapagos.
"We are very pleased to announce the delivery of a second candidate drug
in the
alliance with Janssen," said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos.
"Galapagos
is progressing multiple programs successfully across different
alliances and
delivering promising candidate drugs."
About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG; OTC: GLPYY) is a mid-size clinical
stage
biotechnology company specialized in the discovery and development of
small
molecule and antibody therapies with a novel mode-of-action. The
Company is
progressing four clinical, six pre-clinical, and 30 discovery programs in
cystic
fibrosis, inflammation, antibiotics, metabolic disease, and other
indications.
Its lead program is GLPG0634, an orally-available, selective inhibitor of
JAK1,
for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and potentially other
inflammatory
diseases. In two four-week Phase 2 studies, GLPG0634 showed improvement
in the
signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and a unique safety profile.
A 6
month Phase 2b study is expected to start Q2 2013 with top line data
expected in
Q4 2014. AbbVie and Galapagos signed a worldwide license agreement
whereby
AbbVie will be responsible for further development and commercialization
after
Phase 2b. Galapagos is also progressing two other clinical development
programs
with clinical readouts expected in 2013: GLPG0187, a novel integrin
receptor
antagonist in development for metastasis, is in a Phase 1b patient
study;
GLPG0974 is the first inhibitor of GPR43 to be evaluated clinically
for the
treatment of IBD. This program is in a second Phase 1 study and will
start a
Proof of Concept Phase 2 study in Q2 2013.
The Galapagos Group, including fee-for-service companies BioFocus,
Argenta and
Fidelta, has over 800 employees and operates facilities in five countries,
with
global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. Further information about the
company
and its drug development programs can be found online at: www.glpg.com
Galapagos 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,"
"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.
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Galapagos NV via Thomson Reuters ONE
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