| BioFocus collaborates with Cresset to develop new range of compound libraries Saffron Walden and Hertfordshire, UK; December 15, 2005 – BioFocus, Galapagos’ services division (Euronext & LSE: GLPG), announced today that is has formed an alliance with Cresset BioMolecular Discovery Limited (Cresset BMD) to develop a new range of compound libraries. BioFocus is developing this new range of “FieldFocus™” compounds based on Cresset’s molecular fields software. BioFocus also has an option to license the technology for medicinal chemistry projects for itself and third parties. While conventional modelling approaches rely on the atom and bond representations of compounds, Cresset’s FieldTemplater™ method of molecular field modelling identifies the molecular field of the 3-dimensional conformation of a compound. This provides a powerful “protein’s view” of the key molecular features required for biological activity. Furthermore, using molecular field patterns to compare molecules enables a robust structure-independent method of identifying novel chemical classes that can take a project into new intellectual property space. This technology is especially valuable for certain classes of receptors such as GPCR and ion channels, which are highly valued by the pharmaceutical industry but which lack sufficient X-ray crystallographic structures to allow easy molecular design. “By combining Cresset’s and BioFocus’ computational expertise, BioFocus is expanding its range of targeted compound libraries for high-value drug targets such as GPCRs and ion channels,” said Chris Newton, Senior Vice-President BioFocus. “We are excited to implement Cresset’s cutting-edge Field technology and are confident that these novel libraries and technologies will help to accelerate our customers’ drug discovery programs.” Beatrice Leigh, CEO of Cresset, commented “We are delighted to be collaborating with BioFocus on the development of a new range of targeted compound libraries. BioFocus has an outstanding, global reputation for the high quality of the compounds in their libraries and the excellence of their design process based on in depth medicinal chemistry experience and novelty. We are looking forward to working with them to create some truly innovative libraries for effective drug discovery.” About Galapagos Galapagos
is a publicly traded, genomics-based drug discovery company
(Euronext Brussels, GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam, GLPGA, London
AiM: GLPG) that has drug discovery programs based on proprietary,
novel targets in the bone and joint diseases - osteoarthritis,
osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Galapagos offers
a full suite of target-to-drug discovery products and services
to pharmaceutical and biotech companies through its division
BioFocus, encompassing target discovery and validation,
and drug discovery services through to delivery of pre-clinical
candidates. In addition, BioFocus provides adenoviral reagents
for rapid identification and validation of novel drug targets
and compound libraries for screening. Galapagos currently
employs 203 people, including 76 PhDs, and occupies facilities
in Mechelen, Belgium, Saffron Walden, UK and Leiden, The
Netherlands. The partners of Galapagos include Amgen, AstraZeneca,
Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, GlaxoSmithKline, Idenix,
Novartis, Organon, Serono, Vertex, and Wyeth. More information
about Galapagos and BioFocus can be found at www.glpg.com. Cresset BioMolecular Discovery Ltd is a drug discovery technology company based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, UK. Founded in November 2001, the Company has pioneered the use of in silico applications for the analysis of molecular fields rather than chemical structures in drug discovery. The Company markets its proprietary Field-based software which includes Fieldscreen™, a candidate selection technology that rapidly identifies diverse drug like compounds with the same biological effects, and FieldTemplater™ which creates bound conformation hypotheses for active compounds to guide hit-finding and lead optimisation projects. Cresset also undertakes fee-for-service projects and collaborations with shared IP. It has a global client base which includes six major pharmaceutical companies and more than twenty biotechnology companies. More information about Cresset can be found at www.cresset-bmd.com.
BioFocus Cresset
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