MECHELEN, Belgium, Feb. 12, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Galapagos Genomics, the Belgian functional genomics company, today announced that it has been awarded by the IWT (The Flemish Institute for the Promotion of Industrial Scientific-Technological Research) a Euro 1.4 million technology development grant in Belgium for Alzheimer's Disease research.
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.C6TM 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.
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