Galapagos reaches agreement to acquire GlaxoSmithKline research centre in Zagreb, Croatia
R&D operations in Zagreb fulfil Galapagos' growing R&D capacity requirements
Galapagos and GlaxoSmithKline announced they have reached an agreement for Galapagos to acquire GSK's state-of-the art research centre in Zagreb, Croatia. The arrangement, which is subject to closing conditions and is expected to be effective as of 9 September 2010, provides for ongoing employment of the staff at the centre and will provide additional capacity for Galapagos' growing R&D requirements.
Terms of the deal include the acquisition of the research centre along with the transfer of approximately 130 staff. In addition, Galapagos will provide R&D services to GSK under a three year fee-for-service contract to the value of €14 M. Further terms were not disclosed.
The Zagreb centre comes with a strong heritage in the area of antibacterial research having served as GSK's Macrolide Center of Excellence for Drug Discovery and before that as an R&D site for Pliva, the independent pharmaceutical company and founder of the blockbuster antibiotic azithromycin. The integrated capabilities in the operations will allow Galapagos to resource research programmes from molecule through to the clinic in alignment with its milestone-driven alliance model. The site will form the basis of a newly created third Galapagos business unit, Internal Outsourcing, that will provide flexible, additional capacity for the Galapagos Group. GSK's senior researcher from the Zagreb site, Dr. Radan Spaventi, will join the Galapagos Executive Team as Senior Vice President.
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