Galapagos
will build a number of Alzheimer’s disease relevant
assays using neuronal cells and will use these in combination
with its adenoviral based target discovery platform. Functionally
identified and validated targets will lead to drug discovery
programs that ultimately will be partnered with pharmaceutical
companies to develop new Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics.
"We
are very pleased with this IWT grant, as it enables us to
expand our discovery activities in one or our core disease
areas," said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos.
"The continuing support from Flanders over the years
has helped Galapagos to build its technology and disease
programs and is an confirmation of the quality of the research
at Galapagos".
About
Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder clinically
characterized by the progressive loss of intellectual capacities
leading to cognitive impairment and ultimately to full dementia.
It is a debilitating disease with a large, fast growing
socio-economic impact due to the increasingly aging populations.
Current Alzheimer’s disease therapies yield temporary
symptomatic relief without halting the progression of the
disease. Thus, new insights into the underlying Alzheimer’s
disease processes as well as new treatments are urgently
required to treat the disease.
Since genetic studies clearly underscore the involvement
of the amyloid beta pathway in Alzheimer’s disease
reducing the amyloid beta-mediated neuronal toxicity represents
the best chance to develop disease-modifying therapies.
Only a limited number of drug targets currently exist and
these are being pursued with little success. The identification
of novel drug targets within this pathway is of great importance
as these could represent superior drug targets.
About
Galapagos Genomics NV
Galapagos Genomics is a discovery company focused on the
rapid identification and validation of disease modifying
drug targets by functional screening in human disease models.
The research activities encompass the internal programs
in osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's
disease and Asthma, as well as numerous partnerships with
leading pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and biotech companies.
Proprietary targets resulting from our internal programs
are used for the development of drugs in our core disease
areas, combined with selected out-licensing and partnering
of projects during development. The Company currently employs
90 people, including 22 PhD's, and occupies a 2000 sq.m.
research and production facility in Mechelen with additional
research laboratories in Leiden, The Netherlands. Galapagos’
partners include Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Euroscreen,
Exelixis, Incyte, Johnson&Johnson, Organon, Pfizer,
Procter&Gamble, UCB Pharma, Vertex and Wyeth. Galapagos
was founded in 1999 by Crucell (Nasdaq, Euronext: CRXL)
and Tibotec to exploit Crucell's unique PER.C6™ technology
for target discovery. The shareholders are Abingworth Management,
Apax Partners, Burrill&Company, NIB Capital Private
Equity, Crucell Holland BV and Tibotec-Virco NV.
More information on Galapagos can be found at the website
www.galapagosgenomics.com.
Contact:
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
+31 6290 980 28
onno@galapagos.be
