Mechelen, Belgium; 18 August 2011 – Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced today that its service division Argenta has extended its integrated contract drug discovery agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY). Total potential value of the contract extension is up to £21.5 million (€23.4 million).
This is the third such extension since the agreement was announced in December 2005. The agreement covers a number of drug discovery programs that utilize Argenta’s expertise in computer-aided drug design (CADD), medicinal chemistry, in vitro biology and screening to discover new chemical entities acting against undisclosed drug targets defined by Genentech.
The extended agreement also allows Genentech to continue placing projects directly into Galapagos’ other service division, BioFocus, who will provide Genentech with integrated medicinal chemistry, in vitro biology and ADME services. BioFocus has been working with Genentech since an amendment to the Argenta agreement was signed in September 2010.
“We are proud that Genentech again has selected Argenta for this major drug discovery collaboration,” said Dr Chris Newton, SVP Services of Galapagos. “The possibility for Genentech to continue placing projects directly with BioFocus also speaks to the complementary expertise and technological capabilities that Argenta and BioFocus possess.”
About Argenta
Argenta’s contract research, which includes expertise in medicinal chemistry, computer-aided drug discovery, in vitro biology, analytics, in vivo pharmacokinetics, pharmacology and world-leading respiratory models, has a strong reputation for scientific excellence. Argenta is a service division of Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) and employs over 140 people in the UK with its main operations in Harlow. More info at: www.argentadiscovery.com
About BioFocus
BioFocus delivers drug discovery solutions through a comprehensive platform run by dedicated teams with a track record in gene-to-clinical candidate discovery. BioFocus’ offering includes target discovery in human primary cells, focused as well as diverse compound libraries, in vitro and cell-based screening, structural biology, medicinal chemistry and ADME/PK services, supported by unique chemogenomic and informatics tools. As a service division of Galapagos, BioFocus has over 210 employees with research facilities in three countries. For more information visit www.biofocus.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 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
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