Galapagos and the University of Bristol enter drug discovery collaboration
February 15 2007 - 2:01AM
UK Regulatory
Mechelen, Belgium and Bristol, United Kingdom; 15 February 2007 -
Galapagos NV (Euronext & LSE: GLPG) and the University of Bristol
today announced a new drug discovery collaboration in the field of
cancer research. Galapagos' service division BioFocus DPI will
provide lead optimization services for a University of Bristol
research program focusing on destroying cancer cells. Total contract
value for Galapagos exceeds �2 million in research fees over two
years.
Scientists at ProXara Biotechnology Ltd, a spin-out from the
University of Bristol, have discovered drug-like compounds that
prevent PKB activation and that make tumour cells commit suicide.
The University of Bristol has recently been awarded a �4.3 million
research grant from the Wellcome Trust's Seeding Drug Discovery
Initiative to take this research programme forward. BioFocus DPI
will apply its lead optimization expertise and its Admensa technology
to help the University of Bristol team optimize these drug-like
compounds and select a candidate for clinical trials.
"This new collaboration with the University of Bristol validates the
strategy behind the Inpharmatica acquisition," said Onno van de
Stolpe, Chief Executive Officer of Galapagos. "The combination of
Inpharmatica's Admensa and our medicinal chemistry expertise is a
powerful drug discovery tool."
"The innovation of BioFocus DPI's scientists, together with the
support of the Wellcome Trust, will help us to accelerate development
of our anti-cancer compounds," said Professor Jeremy Tavar� of the
University of Bristol's Department of Biochemistry.
About protein kinase B
All cells in the human body contain protein kinase B, a naturally
occurring enzyme that, if active, prevents cells from committing
suicide. Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is an important
process in the body's development but, when this process goes wrong,
unregulated cell growth occurs, leading to the development of
tumours.
About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext Brussels, GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam, GLPGA; London
AiM: GLPG) is a drug discovery company with clinical and pre-clinical
programs in bone and joint diseases, cachexia, and menopausal hot
flashes. Its division BioFocus DPI 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 ADME[1]
database products to select targets and compounds. Galapagos
currently employs 450 people and operates facilities in eight
countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More
information about Galapagos and BioFocus DPI can be found at
www.glpg.com.
About the University of Bristol Department of Biochemistry
The University of Bristol is one of the leading research universities
in the UK, having an excellent national and international reputation
in research, teaching and global discovery. The University is
committed to combining its excellence in research and innovation with
a vibrant enterprise culture and is working with government, industry
and other partner organisations to encourage the growth of
knowledge-based business in the South West.
The Department of Biochemistry obtained the maximum 5*A rating in the
last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), whilst in the most recent
assessment of teaching quality and student support, the Quality
Assurance Agency (QAA) awarded the Department a score of 24 out of
24. Taken together, these make Bristol one of the two most
highly-rated University Biochemistry Departments in the UK. More
information can be found at www.bris.ac.uk/biochemistry.
About the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK and the second
largest medical research charity in the world. It funds innovative
biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending around
�750 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the
best ideas. The Wellcome Trust's Seeding Drug Discovery initiative
aims to bridge the funding gap in early-stage drug discovery,
assisting researchers in academia or companies to take forward
projects in small molecule therapeutics that will be the springboard
for further research and development by the biotech and
pharmaceutical industry. More information on the Wellcome Trust can
be found at www.wellcome.ac.uk.
CONTACT
Galapagos NV
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
Tel: +31 6 2909 8028
Email: ir@glpg.com
University of Bristol
Sadia Haq, Enterprise Marketing Manager
Tel: +44 117 331 7631
Email: sadia.haq@bristol.ac.uk
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Admensa(TM) is a trademark of Galapagos NV and/or its affiliates.
[1] ADME is the acronym for Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and
Excretion: Meeting parameters against these four criteria is critical
to the success of a pharmaceutical compound as a drug.
Copyright � Hugin ASA 2007. All rights reserved.
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