NovAliX and Galapagos NV Collaborate in Osteoarthritis Discovery Research Program

Strasbourg, France, August 29, 2011 / B3C newswire / – NovAliX today announces that it has entered into drug discovery collaboration in the field of osteoarthritis with Galapagos.

Under the terms of this agreement NovAliX will be responsible for the discovery of specific small molecule lead candidates for a novel, validated osteoarthritis target chosen by Galapagos. NovAliX will identify hits using its Graffinity fragment-based screening technology that combines chemical micro-arrays with a proprietary SPR-imaging method for the detection of compound-protein interactions and then further progress this program to the lead candidate stage by applying its medicinal chemistry and structural biology expertise.

NovAliX will receive technology access fees, research funding and is eligible to receive success-based milestones from Galapagos.

"We look forward to utilizing NovAliX’s capabilities in biophysics and lead generation methodologies for this novel target based drug discovery program" said Dr Graham Dixon, Senior Vice President Drug Discovery, at Galapagos.

Stephan Jenn, President of NovAliX, said: "This drug discovery collaboration with a leading European biotech confirms the quality of our technologies and science, and underlines the value of our platform as an important tool to deliver valuable lead candidates."

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 one of the largest pipelines in biotech, with six programs in development and over 50 discovery programs. Through risk/reward-sharing alliances with GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Roche and Servier, Galapagos is eligible to receive up to €2.5 billion in downstream milestones, plus royalties. The Galapagos Group has about 800 employees and operates facilities in six countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium.

About NovAliX

NovAliX is providing enabling chemistry and biophysical technologies to support the pharmaceutical industry’s outsourcing needs from discovery to manufacturing. With proprietary SPR technology, X-ray protein crystallography, supramolecular mass spectrometry and chemistry NovAliX offers comprehensive integrated services for small molecule drug discovery. With advanced NMR technologies, NovAliX provides fine characterization of biologics, thorough analysis of APIs and polymorphism studies to support pharmaceutical development and manufacturing teams. NovAliX Group, a team of 120 scientists, is located in Strasbourg-Illkirch (France) and Heidelberg (Germany).

Contact

Denis Zeyer, CEO

NovAliX

Bld Sébastien Brant, BP 30170

F-67405 Illkirch CEDEX FRANCE

Phone : +33 368 330 200

info@novalix-pharma.com

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