MECHELEN, BELGIUM--(Marketwire - 02/08/11) - Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced today that it reached milestones in its osteoarthritis alliance with Servier, resulting in payments in 2010 revenues totaling EUR4 million from Servier.
In July 2010, Servier and Galapagos announced their alliance to develop new medicines for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Galapagos is responsible for the discovery and development of new candidate drugs and Servier has an exclusive option to license these after the completion of Phase I clinical trials by Galapagos. To date, Galapagos has received a total of EUR11 million in payments from Servier under the alliance.
"We are delighted to reach the first milestones in the osteoarthritis alliance with Servier just six months after initiating the alliance," said Onno van de Stolpe, Galapagos' CEO. "The milestones announced today involve the optimization of molecules that have shown promise in altering the course of osteoarthritis."
"We are very pleased with the progress of our alliance with Galapagos so far. This is in line with Servier's commitment to develop disease-modifying drugs for sufferers of uncured diseases, such as OA, a debilitating disease that affects 12% of the world population, leading to severe and costly handicaps," said Emmanuel Canet, Head of R&D at Servier.
About Galapagos' osteoarthritis alliance with Servier
The alliance between Servier and Galapagos builds on novel osteoarthritis drug targets discovered by Galapagos through its proprietary platform. For any marketed products, Servier will have the rights to development, registration and commercialization, but Galapagos retains exclusive U.S. commercialization rights. Galapagos is also eligible to receive discovery, development, regulatory and other milestone payments that could reach EUR290 million, plus royalties upon commercialization of products outside the U.S. covered under the agreement.
About osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, typically affecting people aged 45 and older. It is a degenerative disease characterized by joint destruction and loss of cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over one another. It also absorbs energy from the shock of physical movement. In OA, the surface layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away. This allows bones under the cartilage to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and loss of motion of the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also, bone spurs called osteophytes - may grow on the edges of the joint. Bits of bone or cartilage can break off and float inside the joint space. This causes more pain and damage. No currently available treatments prevent OA or even reverse or block the disease process. Treatment of OA involves weight control, exercise, and pain relief, most frequently with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that relieve the symptoms without changing the course of the underlying disease. Many OA patients have pain that persists despite these measures and often then have to undergo costly surgical procedures to replace their damaged joints. It is expected that with the aging of the population, more individuals will be prone to develop OA. As mobility of seniors is of high importance to maintaining a high quality of life, preventing the severity of OA is seen as an immense clinical need over the next decade.
About Servier
Servier is a privately-run research based pharmaceutical company with a 2010 turnover of EUR3.7 billion. Servier is dedicating 25% of its turnover to Research & Development in cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological, psychiatric and bone and joint diseases as well as oncology. Servier is established in 140 countries worldwide with over 20,000 employees. More info at: www.servier.com
About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG; OTC: GLPYY) is a mid-size biotechnology company specialized in the discovery and development of small molecule and antibody therapies with novel modes-of-action. The Company is progressing one of the largest pipelines in biotech, with seven clinical and over 50 small molecule discovery/pre-clinical programs. Through risk/reward-sharing alliances with GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Roche and Servier, Galapagos is eligible to receive up to EUR2.5 billion in downstream milestones, plus royalties. The Galapagos Group has over 800 employees and operates facilities in seven countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More info at: www.glpg.com
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "could," 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.
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Source: Galapagos NV via Thomson Reuters ONE
CONTACTS
Servier Laboratories Servier Communication Department Tel: +33 1 55 72 40 82 Email Contact Galapagos NV Onno van de Stolpe CEO Tel: +31 6 2909 8028 Email Contact Elizabeth Goodwin Director, Investor Relations Tel: +31 6 2291 6240 Email Contact
