Mechelen,
Belgium; Leiden, The Netherlands; and Rockville, Maryland,
USA; June 20, 2005 – Galapagos today announced that
it has entered into a services agreement with Celera Genomics
Group (NYSE:CRA), an Applera Corporation business. Under
the agreement, Galapagos’ services division Galadeno
will provide technology and adenoviral reagents enabling
Celera to analyze gene function in human cells and validate
potential drug targets. Galadeno will receive payments related
to its services and technology.
Under
the terms of the agreement, Galadeno will construct recombinant
adenoviruses harboring genes selected by Celera. These custom-made
viruses will be used to introduce the genes into various
cell types to evaluate their function within biological
pathways.
“We
are delighted that Celera has decided to take advantage
of Galapagos’ adenoviral technology. This service
agreement will allow Celera to utilize Galapagos’
technology platform to perform cellular assays and target
validation studies in a very beneficial way,” says
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. “Our adenoviral
platforms have proven to deliver functionally validated
drug targets for our partners, opening significant opportunities
for continued collaboration. We are pleased that Celera
has joined the growing number of companies that choose Galapagos
technology to study gene function in human cells.”
About
Celera Genomics and Applera Corporation
Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The
Celera Genomics Group is engaged principally in the discovery
and development of targeted therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune
and inflammatory diseases. Celera Genomics is leveraging
its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomic capabilities to
identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and
develop small molecule therapeutics. It is also seeking
to advance therapeutic antibody and selected small molecule
drug programs in collaboration with global technology and
market leaders. The Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI)
serves the life science industry and research community
by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables,
software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze
nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins
to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals,
and conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems is
headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of
$1.7 billion during fiscal 2004. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50
joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics,
is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization
of diagnostic products. Information about Applera Corporation,
including reports and other information filed by the company
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available
at www.applera.com, or by telephoning +1.800.762.6923. Information
about Celera Genomics is available at www.celera.com.
About
Galapagos
Galapagos is a publicly traded, genomics-based drug discovery
company (Euronext Brussels, GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam, GLPGA)
that has successfully discovered and validated novel targets
in the bone and joint diseases - osteoarthritis, osteoporosis
and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as in asthma and Alzheimer’s
disease. Proprietary targets and compounds resulting from
these programs are used for Galapagos’ internal drug
discovery programs, combined with selected out-licensing
and partnering of projects during development. Galadeno,
Galapagos’ services unit, provides reagents and functional
screens to leading pharmaceutical, biotech and nutraceutical
companies for rapid identification and validation of novel
drug targets. Galapagos currently employs 69 people, including
17 PhDs, and occupies facilities in Mechelen, Belgium, and
Leiden, The Netherlands. Partners include Bayer, Boehringer
Ingelheim, Celgene, GlaxoSmithKline, Vertex and Wyeth.
More information about Galapagos and Galadeno can be found
at www.glpg.com.
Contact:
Andre Hoekema
Managing Director Galadeno
Phone: +31 65 151 7933
E-mail: andre@galapagos.be
