MECHELEN, Belgium, July 6, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Galapagos announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited. Under the agreement, Galapagos' genomics partnering division Galadeno will design a research program for Novartis employing its SilenceSelect(R) (gene knock-down) platform for functional assays in human primary cell assays. The SilenceSelect technology is based on Galadeno's collection of adenoviruses with human gene sequences that specifically knock down over 4,000 different human proteins by producing siRNA in a human cell.Under the terms of the agreement, Galadeno will provide technology, reagents and support to enable Novartis to validate drug targets by analyzing human protein function in human primary cells. Galadeno will receive payments related to the research services and its SilenceSelect technology.
"We are very pleased that Novartis Pharmaceuticals has decided to work with Galapagos for its expertise in knock-down technology and cellular assays. This collaboration will allow Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited to utilize our SilenceSelect target discovery engine in a very beneficial way", says Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. "We are confident that our technology will perform well in the hands of Novartis. Our SilenceSelect platform has proven to deliver for our other partners, opening significant opportunities for continued collaboration."
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' partnering 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 71 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.