MECHELEN, Belgium, Jan. 23, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Galapagos Genomics NV, the Belgian functional genomics company, today announced that it has been awarded US Patent No. 6,340,595 entitled "High Throughput Screening of Gene Function Using Adenoviral Libraries for Functional Genomics Applications."
This patent offers broad protection for Galapagos' unique PhenoSelect(TM) platform. The technology covered by the patent provides for the automated, miniaturized construction of arrayed adenoviral expression libraries for the identification of gene-functions. The use of these replication-deficient adenoviral libraries secures highly efficient transduction of target cells in a multi-well format thereby expressing a unique human protein per well. This enables Galapagos to apply a broad range of cellular assays to identify genes that cause a specific change in phenotype. Read-outs of the different assays range from cellular morphology changes, reporter gene expression to biochemical pathway indicators. This combination of a broad range of cellular assays coupled with an arrayed format enables Galapagos to efficiently link the observed phenotype with the corresponding gene.
"The issuing of this patent in the United States is an important milestone for Galapagos," said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. "It strengthens our rapidly growing intellectual property portfolio and provides broad protection for our platform to discover and validate novel drug targets and therapeutic proteins."
The current intellectual property portfolio of Galapagos includes over 30 patent families that were in-licensed from Crucell NV and Tibotec-Virco NV. These patents provide a broad coverage for its adenoviral vector technology as well as in combination with cellular assays. Galapagos has filed 4 patents to further strengthen the PhenoSelect(TM) platform. In addition, Galapagos owns 4 patent applications on discovered genes with therapeutically important functions. These potential drug targets are thought to play an important role in the onset or progression of specific diseases, including cancer, angiogenesis and osteoporosis.
Galapagos Genomics is a privately held company headquartered in Mechelen, Belgium. The Company was established in 1999 as a joint venture between Crucell NV (Nasdaq:CRXL) (Euronext:CRXL); Leiden, The Netherlands), and Tibotec-Virco NV (Mechelen, Belgium). The Company has built a functional genomics platform using arrayed adenoviruses containing human genes to identify drug targets and therapeutic genes. Galapagos' technology is based on Crucell's proprietary PER.C6(TM) human cell line expression platform. Galapagos has an exclusive license to use PER.C6 for functional genomics applications. It's PhenoSelect libraries are in a format that enable high-throughput screening using cellular assays. The Company currently employs 78 people, including 21 PhD's, and occupies a 15,000 sq.f. research and production facility in Mechelen, with additional research laboratories in Leiden, The Netherlands. Galapagos' current partners include Pharmacia, Bayer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Incyte Genomics, Procter&Gamble Pharmaceuticals, UCB Pharma, Organon (Akzo Nobel) and Euroscreen.
If you have any questions please contact Noonan/Russo on +44 20 7726 4452.