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Galapagos NV (PINKSHEETS:GLPYY) Wellcome Trust grant makes software publicly available to researchers
Mechelen, Belgium; 23 July 2008 - Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announces the transfer of its databases for predictive drug discovery to the EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). The data, which were offered previously through Galapagos' BioFocus DPI service division, will become publicly available on-line to drug discovery researchers worldwide through the EMBL-EBI under license from Galapagos. Galapagos will receive £1.4 million (€1.8 million) in cash. To obtain the rights to the databases, the EMBL-EBI has received funding from the Wellcome Trust, the largest charity in the United Kingdom. The EMBL-EBI will provide access to these data under a grant from the Trust.
This agreement involves a suite of databases for selection of the best biological targets for discovery of novel drugs, based on the most appropriate drug-like chemistry starting points. Major databases included under the agreement are: DrugStore(TM) (database of known drugs), StARLITe(TM) (database of known compounds and their effects), Strudle(TM) (binding site drugability), and Kinase SARfari(TM) and GPCR SARfari(TM) (informatics systems for the most widely used target classes in drug discovery).
The StarDrop(TM) software platform to guide decisions and focus resources on optimal chemical compounds in drug discovery is not part of the transaction and will continue to be offered by BioFocus DPI.
"The scientific community worldwide will greatly benefit from the access to these data for aiding predictive drug discovery," says Galapagos' CEO Onno van de Stolpe.
"We are excited to be able to provide information that defines the effects of small molecules on the body and the proteins that these molecules interact with, as part of our mission to provide freely available bioinformatics tools to promote scientific progress and disseminate cutting-edge technologies to industry. With this transfer, we aim to facilitate faster and better drug development," says Professor Janet Thornton, Director of EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute. "It speaks to the importance of this information for translational research that the Wellcome Trust has chosen to support this particular transfer with considerable funding."
"The Wellcome Trust has a strong commitment to making vital research tools freely available to the academic research community," says Dr. Alan Schafer, Head of Molecular and Physiological Sciences at the Wellcome Trust. "Enabling these previously proprietary data to enter the public domain will allow researchers worldwide to make free use of knowledge essential for drug discovery."
About Galapagos and BioFocus DPI Galapagos (Euronext Brussels: GLPG; Euronext Amsterdam: GLPGA; OTC: GLPYY) is a drug discovery company with pre-clinical programs in bone and joint diseases and bone metastasis. Its division BioFocus DPI offers a full suite of target-to-drug discovery products and services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, encompassing target discovery and validation, screening and drug discovery through to delivery of pre-clinical candidates. BioFocus DPI also provides adenoviral reagents for rapid identification and validation of novel drug targets, compound libraries for drug screening as well as ADMET products to select compounds. Galapagos currently employs 460 people and operates facilities in six countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More information about Galapagos and BioFocus DPI can be found at www.glpg.com and www.biofocusdpi.com.
CONTACT
Galapagos NV André Hoekema, PhD SVP Corporate Development Tel: +31 65 151 7933 ir@glpg.com
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