ROCKVILLE, M.D. and MECHELEN, Belgium, June 20, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Galapagos today announced that it has entered into a services agreement with Celera Genomics Group (NYSE:CRA), an Applera Corporation business. Under the agreement, Galapagos' services division Galadeno will provide technology and adenoviral reagents enabling Celera to analyze gene function in human cells and validate potential drug targets. Galadeno will receive payments related to its services and technology.Under the terms of the agreement, Galadeno will construct recombinant adenoviruses harboring genes selected by Celera. These custom-made viruses will be used to introduce the genes into various cell types to evaluate their function within biological pathways.
"We are delighted that Celera has decided to take advantage of Galapagos' adenoviral technology. This service agreement will allow Celera to utilize Galapagos' technology platform to perform cellular assays and target validation studies in a very beneficial way," says Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. "Our adenoviral platforms have proven to deliver functionally validated drug targets for our partners, opening significant opportunities for continued collaboration. We are pleased that Celera has joined the growing number of companies that choose Galapagos technology to study gene function in human cells."
About Celera Genomics and Applera Corporation Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Celera Genomics Group is engaged principally in the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Celera Genomics is leveraging its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomic capabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics. It is also seeking to advance therapeutic antibody and selected small molecule drug programs in collaboration with global technology and market leaders. The Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI) serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals, and conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of $1.7 billion during fiscal 2004. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic products. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at www.applera.com, or by telephoning +1.800.762.6923. Information about Celera Genomics is available at www.celera.com.
About Galapagos
Galapagos is a publicly traded, genomics-based drug discovery company (Euronext Brussels, GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam, GLPGA) that has successfully discovered and validated novel targets in the bone and joint diseases - osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as in asthma and Alzheimer's disease. Proprietary targets and compounds resulting from these programs are used for Galapagos' internal drug discovery programs, combined with selected out-licensing and partnering of projects during development. Galadeno, Galapagos' services unit, provides reagents and functional screens to leading pharmaceutical, biotech and nutraceutical companies for rapid identification and validation of novel drug targets. Galapagos currently employs 69 people, including 17 PhDs, and occupies facilities in Mechelen, Belgium, and Leiden, The Netherlands. Partners include Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, GlaxoSmithKline, Vertex and Wyeth.
More information about Galapagos and Galadeno can be found at www.glpg.com.