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Galapagos enters strategic alliance in diabetes and obesity with Merck & Co., Inc.
(Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MECHELEN, BELGIUM, January 9 / MARKET WIRE/ --
* Galapagos to discover small molecule candidate drugs for
pre-clinical development
* Upfront fee, milestones on pre-clinical and clinical
development of small molecule candidates, plus royalties on
worldwide sales
Click here to access the live audio webcast presentation at
11.30 CET, call number +31 20 794 8504
Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced today that it has entered
into a multi-year global strategic alliance with Merck & Co., Inc. to
develop potential new therapies in obesity and diabetes.
Galapagos will be responsible for the discovery and pre-clinical
development of new small molecule candidate drugs based on novel
Galapagos targets. Merck will have the exclusive option to license
each candidate for clinical development and commercialization on a
worldwide basis. The alliance will make use of Galapagos'
proprietary SilenceSelect? target discovery platform for
identification of novel targets in obesity and diabetes. After
validation, targets will be selected by a joint steering committee
and entered into screening and chemistry by Galapagos. Merck has the
option to acquire an exclusive license to each candidate drug and
upon exercise of such an option, Merck will be responsible for the
development and commercialization of the candidate drug. Galapagos
may execute phase I clinical studies and will have the right to
further develop and commercialize certain compounds for which Merck
does not exercise its exclusive option.
Under the terms of the agreement, Galapagos will receive an upfront
fee of EUR 1.5 million from Merck. In addition Galapagos is eligible to
receive discovery, development and regulatory milestone payments that
could potentially exceed EUR 170 million total for multiple products, as
well as specific sales milestones and royalties upon
commercialization of any products covered under the agreement.
"The alliance with Merck in obesity and diabetes further demonstrates
Galapagos' ability to expand into new therapeutic areas," said Onno
van de Stolpe, CEO. "Galapagos has a proven track record of
delivering on its alliance programs, making us attractive to
potential pharma partners seeking to fill their pipelines with
medicines based on novel modes of action. Galapagos has been
successful through careful management of its R&D programs; this early
stage alliance with Merck fits nicely into our alliance
infrastructure as other programs advance into later stages."
"By combining Galapagos' novel target identification strategy with
Merck's drug development expertise this collaboration provides a
unique opportunity to discover and develop potential new therapies
for diabetes and obesity," said Catherine Strader, Vice President,
External Basic Research, Merck Research Laboratories.
Conference call and webcast presentation
Galapagos will conduct a conference call open to the public today at
11.30 Central European Time (CET), which will also be webcast. To
participate in the conference call, please call +31 20 794 8504, ten
minutes prior to commencement. A question and answer session will
follow the presentation. Click here to access the live audio webcast.
The archived webcast also will be available for replay shortly after
the close of the call.
About diabetes and obesity
Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which blood sugar (glucose) levels
are abnormally high because the body does not produce enough insulin
to meet its needs. Patients with diabetes type 1 (10% of diabetes
patients) have lost the ability to produce insulin themselves. In
type 2 diabetes, patients develop resistance to the effects of
insulin; obesity is the chief risk factor in developing this type, as
80-90% of patients with type 2 diabetes are obese. Diabetes symptoms
include increased urination, thirst, and weight loss. Diabetes also
can lead to nerve damage, blood vessel damage, and increased risk of
heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure. About 15% of people over
the age of 70 develop Type 2 diabetes. Treatment of diabetes
involves diet, exercise, education, and, for most people, drugs.
Global sales of diabetes drugs totaled $15 billion in 2005[1].
Obesity is the excess accumulation of body fat and is defined as
having a Body Mass Index[2] > 30. Being obese increases the risk of
many disorders, such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers,
and can result in high blood pressure and early death. Increasing
activity and reducing caloric intake are essential to treating
obesity, but some people also need to take drugs. Around 10% of the
world population is obese[3], and sales of obesity drugs in the
world's largest markets are expected to grow from $500 million in
2006 to more than $2 billion by 2016[4].
About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext Brussels: GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam: GLPGA; OTC:
GLPYY) is a drug discovery company with pre-clinical programs in bone
and joint diseases and bone metastasis. Its BioFocus DPI division
offers a full suite of target-to-drug discovery products and services
to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, encompassing target
discovery and validation, screening and drug discovery through to
delivery of pre-clinical candidates. BioFocus DPI also provides
adenoviral reagents for rapid identification and validation of novel
drug targets, compound libraries for drug screening as well as
chemogenomics and ADMET database products to select targets and
compounds. Galapagos currently employs about 460 people and operates
facilities in six countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen,
Belgium. More information about Galapagos can be found at
www.glpg.com.
CONTACT
Galapagos NV
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
Tel: +31 6 2909 8028
ir@glpg.com
This release may contain forward-looking statements, including,
without limitation, statements containing the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates,"
"may," "will," "could," "stands to," and "continues," as well as
similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements may involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which might
cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or
achievements of Galapagos, or industry results, to be materially
different from any historic or future results, financial conditions,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, the reader is
advised not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date of publication of this document. Galapagos expressly disclaims
any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements in this
document to reflect any change in its expectations with regard
thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which
any such statement is based, unless required by law or regulation.
[1] "The Global Diabetes Market - Therapeutics, Diagnostics, and
Complications" Arrowhead Publishers
[2] Body Mass Index = (weight in kilograms)/(length in meters)(2)
[3] World Health Organization estimates from 2005
[4] Decision Resources, March 2008
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Copyright ? Hugin AS 2009. All rights reserved.
Copyright ? 2009 Marketwire
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