MECHELEN, Belgium, May 21, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Galapagos Genomics NV today announced that Robin Brown has been appointed Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Dr. Brown will be responsible for directing the research and development programs at Galapagos, focused on drug target discovery and validation. As a result of the progress that the Company has made over the past three years, Galapagos is now entering a new phase in its development whereby it will validate proprietary drug targets and initiate drug discovery activities. Dr. Brown's skill set in this area will greatly contribute to the transfer to a drug development company. "We are delighted that Robin has joined Galapagos as a key member of our executive team," stated Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. "Robin brings invaluable pharma experience to the organization that will be essential for building a successful company that uses genomics technologies to improve the productivity of the drug discovery process." Before joining Galapagos, Dr. Brown held the position of CSO at Devgen in Belgium. Prior to Devgen, Dr. Brown spent nine years at Glaxo-Wellcome, latterly as head of the Cell and Molecular Biology department at the Stevenage research campus, U.K. Dr Brown holds a Ph.D. from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Ludwig Institute (London). "I am exited to take on the challenge of CSO at Galapagos," said Robin Brown. "This Company has the right ingredients to become a powerhouse in drug discovery and I look forward to making that work."
Galapagos Genomics is a privately held company headquartered in Mechelen, Belgium. The Company has built a functional genomics platform using arrayed adenoviruses containing human genes. It's PhenoSelect libraries are in a format that enable high-throughput screening using cellular assays. Galapagos is using its technology platform for the discovery and validation of proprietary drug targets and for partnering with biotech and pharma. It's proprietary research programs focus on Alzheimer, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriasis. The Company currently employs 81 people, including 21 PhD's, and occupies a 15,000 sq.f. research and production facility in Mechelen, with additional research laboratories in Leiden, The Netherlands. Galapagos' current partners include Pharmacia, Bayer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Incyte Genomics, Exelixis, Procter&Gamble Pharmaceuticals, UCB Pharma, Organon (Akzo Nobel) and Euroscreen. The shareholders are Abingworth Management, Apax Partners, Burrill & Company, NIB Capital, Crucell Holland BV (Nasdaq:CRXL) (Euronext: CRXL) and Tibotec-Virco NV.