MECHELEN, BELGIUM--(Marketwire - January 30, 2013) - Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced
today that it has been awarded a EUR2.5 million grant from the Flemish
agency for
Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) for inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD)
research and development. The goal of this 2.5-year project is to
identify new
therapeutic compounds for future treatment of IBD patients.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, uncontrolled inflammation
of the
intestinal mucosa. Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are
the two
main types of IBD; both diseases have an autoimmune component. The
introduction
of anti-TNF alpa antibodies has changed the treatment of refractory
patients,
but only one third of the patients will achieve long-term remission. As
such,
the medical need in this patient segment is very high.
The general purpose of the IWT-funded program is to gain better insight
in the
roles of GPR43 and two undisclosed targets in the pathobiology of
chronic
inflammatory disorders, in order to understand their therapeutic
value.
Galapagos will collaborate in this project with Professor Dr Paul
Rutgeerts and
Professor Dr Séverine Vermeire from the Catholic University of
Leuven, and the
research group of Professor Dr Martine De Vos at Ghent University.
Galapagos has been working in the anti-inflammatory field for a long
time, and
has several projects with IBD as potential indication. The first compound
that
will be tested in IBD patients is GLPG0974, an inhibitor of target GPR43
(also
known as FFA2). This target is one of the three whose role in IBD
will be
investigated in this IWT-funded project. Galapagos has recently
completed a
second Phase I clinical study with GLPG0974, and results are expected
to be
reported later this quarter. In April Galapagos will start a Proof of
Concept
study with GLPG0974 in UC.
"After RA, IBD is the second autoimmune disease focus for Galapagos. With
this
grant we will get a better understanding of the cause of IBD, and this
will
contribute to the search for better medicines," said Piet Wigerinck,
CSO of
Galapagos. "The knowledge that will come from this research will provide
more
insight into the potential of our programs for use in this indication."
About IBD
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are disorders of multi-factorial cause
that
present as a multitude of phenotypes, clinical behaviors and severity.
Crohn's
disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two main types of IBD.
The
peak age of onset is 15 to 30 years old, with a second, smaller peak
occurring
in individuals aged 50 to 70, with the prevalence rate of IBD reaching
up to
396/100,000 persons.
The hallmark of IBD is chronic uncontrolled inflammation of the
intestinal
mucosa, involving a pathological response in both innate and adaptive
immune
system. The pathogenesis is an interplay of factors as diverse as
genetic
susceptibility, the external environment, infectious agents, the
commensal
enteric microbiota, and (mucosal) immune system dysfunction.
However, the
current understanding of the pathogenesis remains limited. The
characteristic
inflammatory response begins with infiltration of neutrophils and
macrophages,
which release chemokines and cytokines. These in turn exacerbate
the
dysfunctional immune response and activate cellular and humoral responses
in the
gut mucosa.
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 topline 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, which is currently often
referred to
as FFA2. It will be evaluated for the treatment of IBD. This program
is in
Phase 1 and a Proof of Concept Phase 2 study will start 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.
Galapagos receives EUR2.5 million IWT grant for IBD research:
http://hugin.info/133350/R/1673980/545024.pdf
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Source: Galapagos NV via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1673980]
