Galapagos and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics announce new drug discovery collaboration

30-Nov-2007

Galapagos NV and cystic fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. (CFFT), the non-profit affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, announced a new collaboration aimed at discovering new treatments for cystic fibrosis. This new agreement between CFFT and Galapagos' BioFocus DPI service division is worth up to EUR 5.5 million euros ($8.1 million U.S. dollars) for Galapagos.

The collaboration will combine two key strengths of BioFocus DPI - expertise in natural product drug discovery and screening in cells derived from patients. Specifically, the collaboration aims to identify small molecules derived from natural sources that improve the function of a defective protein found in people who have cystic fibrosis. The protein is called CFTR - cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. To advance the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis, CFFT funds promising scientific research in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and academia worldwide.

Under the terms of the agreement, Galapagos stands to receive up to EUR 1.6 million ($2.4 million) in upfront and research fees over the next two years, and up to EUR 3.8 million ($5.7 million) in success-based milestone payments, should certain clinical development criteria be met.

This drug discovery collaboration is in addition to an ongoing target discovery program established between CFFT and BioFocus DPI in April 2005.

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