Galapagos announces PPAR-delta commercial license agreement with Hillcrest Therapeutics
Thursday February 1, 2:06 am ET
Mechelen, Belgium; 1 February 2007 - Galapagos NV (Euronext & LSE: GLPG) announced today that it has signed an exclusive commercial license agreement with US-based Hillcrest Therapeutics, Inc., in which Hillcrest was granted worldwide rights to develop and commercialize the PPAR-delta technology in all fields. PPAR-delta, a drug discovery program addressing diabetes and obesity, has reached the stage of candidate drug selection. Hillcrest Therapeutics, located in San Diego, California, is a portfolio company of Paramount BioSciences LLC, a leading drug development and company capitalization firm. Total contract value for Galapagos amounts to EUR 770,000 in license fees, up to EUR 27 million in potential milestones, undisclosed milestone payments in Hillcrest equity, and single digit royalties on commercial products arising from the program.
PPAR-delta[1] is a key regulator of the human body's control of metabolism; as such, it is considered a valuable target for drug discovery in diabetes and obesity. With the acquisition of Inpharmatica Ltd. on 5 December 2006, Galapagos obtained the downstream rights to the PPAR-delta program. Inpharmatica applied its predictive drug discovery technologies to this internal R&D program, developed proprietary lead series, and reached candidate drug selection within 18 months of commencement. Paramount BioSciences will be completing the development, clinical testing, and commercialization of this program. Galapagos will have no further involvement in the execution of the development.
"Galapagos is pleased to realize the upside of this drug discovery program, which we obtained as a result of the Inpharmatica acquisition," said Onno van de Stolpe, Chief Executive Officer of Galapagos.
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 ADMET[2] 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 Hillcrest Therapeutics and Paramount BioSciences
Hillcrest Therapeutics, Inc. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Founded in 2006, it is a portfolio company of Paramount BioSciences, a preeminent drug development and company capitalization firm, which provides its portfolio companies with a wide-range of professional and financial support services. More information can be found at www.paramountbio.com. |
