Galapagos and NovAliX enter into an integrated drug discovery
collaboration
- Galapagos to transfer drug discovery and research activities in
Romainville, France to NovAliX, a drug-discovery focused Contract
Research Organization (CRO) based in Strasbourg, France
- NovAliX to assume Galapagos’ research capabilities, and
Galapagos retains flexibility to access necessary expertise and
resources through a five year-collaboration agreement
- Transaction in the context of Galapagos’ strategic reset
announced in 2022; closing expected in July 2023
Mechelen, Belgium and
Strasbourg, France; 30
March
2023,
22.01 CET;
Galapagos NV
(Euronext & NASDAQ: GLPG) and
NovAliX today
announced a
strategic
collaboration in which Galapagos’
research and discovery
capabilities and
exclusively related
employees based in
Romainville,
France, will be
transferred to
NovAliX,
a drug discovery-focused
Contract Research
Organization. The
agreement follows Galapagos’
renewed focus on its
key therapeutic areas of
oncology and immunology, and the
strategic reorientation
of the company into a fit-for-purpose
research and development
(R&D)
organization which aims
to accelerate innovation, reduce
risks and shorten drug development
timelines.
Under the terms of the agreement, NovAliX will
acquire Galapagos’ drug discovery and research activities conducted
in Romainville, France. As a result of the acquisition Galapagos’
employees in Romainville who are exclusively dedicated to the
operation of these activities will be transferred to NovAliX who is
dedicated to assuming all ongoing research and discovery activities
in Romainville. In return, Galapagos is committed to utilizing the
research capabilities and expertise of NovAliX through a five
year-collaboration and within the context of the company’s R&D
portfolio. The financial impact is included in Galapagos’
previously announced 2023 cash burn guidance in the range of
€380-420 million. The transaction is subject to customary closing
conditions and is anticipated to close in July 2023.
“Last year, we announced our Forward, Faster
strategy, and the strategic reorientation of our company into a
fit-for-purpose R&D organization. In light of our renewed focus
and our goal to safeguard the continued employment of our
colleagues at our research site in Romainville, we are extremely
pleased that we have come to an agreement with NovAliX,” commented
Paul Stoffels1, CEO and Chairman of Galapagos. “I would like to
thank our teams and NovAliX for their trust and commitment
throughout the past several months to make this happen. I am
confident that our transferred colleagues together with the teams
at NovAliX will thrive and that they will continue to contribute to
the future success of Galapagos as part of this long-term
collaboration.”
“We are extremely pleased to enter into an
integrated drug discovery collaboration with Galapagos. The
acquisition of Galapagos’ drug discovery and research activities in
Romainville, including its highly skilled team, is the perfect fit
for NovAliX in order to complement our DNA-Encoded-Libraries
database2 and cryo-EM3 driven discovery engine. It positions us as
a key player in the field, offering the full scope of drug
discovery capabilities and innovative technologies in kidney
diseases, fibrosis and immunology, complementing our existing
expertise in oncology and infectious diseases,” said Stephan Jenn,
President of NovAliX. “This further demonstrates that we are
executing on our growth strategy and our ambition to expand our
service offering beyond early research. It highlights the evolution
that is taking place in our sector, with the emergence of new
partnership models between CROs and the biopharmaceutical industry
to accelerate therapeutic innovation. We look forward to our
long-term collaboration and to welcoming the Galapagos’ teams.”
About Galapagos Galapagos is a
fully integrated biotechnology company focused on discovering,
developing, and commercializing innovative medicines. We are
committed to improving patients’ lives worldwide by targeting
diseases with high unmet needs. Our R&D capabilities cover
multiple drug modalities, including small molecules and cell
therapies. Our portfolio comprises discovery through to
commercialized programs in immunology, oncology, and other
indications. Our first medicine for rheumatoid arthritis and
ulcerative colitis is available in Europe and Japan. For additional
information, please visit glpg.com or follow us
on LinkedIn or Twitter.
About
NovAliXNovAliX is a fully integrated drug
discovery CRO supporting therapeutic programs from target
identification to the delivery of preclinical candidates. NovAliX
enables successful discovery programs through an award-winning team
of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology scientists, and a variety
of screening and characterization technologies, including an
outstanding DNA-encoded library platform and a comprehensive
portfolio of biophysical techniques, including an in-house cryo-EM
facility. NovAliX’s presence in therapeutic areas now spans
oncology, inflammation, fibrosis, and infectious and kidney
diseases. For additional information, please visit www.novalix.com
or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.Contacts
Media GalapagosMarieke Vermeersch+32 479 490
603 Elisa Chenailler+41 79 853 33
54media@glpg.com Media NovAliXLeticia
Ferreiro Mederos+34 647 78 29 01lferreiro@novalix.com Juliette
Schmitt+44 1273 952 481juliette@ala.associates |
Investor Relations GalapagosSofie Van Gijsel+1 781
296 1143 Sandra Cauwenberghs+32 495 58 46
63ir@glpg.com |
Forward-looking statements
GalapagosThis press
release contains forward-looking statements, all of which involve
certain risks and uncertainties. These statements are often, but
not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as
“focus,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “expectations,” “long-term,”
“thrive,” “future,” “will,” “forward,” “goal,” “continue,”
“renewed,” “aim,” “further,” “commitment,” “committed,” “perfect,”
“collaboration,” “evolution,” “thrive,” “success,” “key” and
similar expressions. These statements include, but are not limited
to, statements regarding the transfer of our drug discovery and
research activities and employees exclusively dedicated to these
activities in Romainville (France), including with respect to the
timing of the anticipated closing, statements regarding the
collaboration between Galapagos and NovAliX, statements regarding
our R&D plans, outlook and strategy, including progress on our
immunology or oncology portfolio, and our SIK platform, and
potential changes in such strategy, statements regarding our
strategy (including our Forward, Faster R&D strategy), business
plans, portfolio goals, and focus. We caution the reader that
forward-looking statements are based on our management’s current
expectations and beliefs, and are not guarantees of future
performance. Forward-looking statements may involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which might cause
actual events, financial condition and liquidity, performance or
achievements, or the industry in which we operate, to be materially
different from any historic or future results, financial
conditions, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the
risks related to the transfer of our drug discovery and research
activities and employees exclusively dedicated to these activities
in Romainville (France) and the collaboration between Galapagos and
NovAliX, including the risk that parties would be unable to
complete the transaction within the currently foreseen timelines or
at all, and the risk that our expectations regarding NovAliX’s
future service performance for us could be incorrect, the inherent
risks and uncertainties associated with target discovery and
validation and drug discovery and development activities, risks
related to our reliance on collaborations with third parties, the
risk that the transaction will not have the currently expected
results for our business and results of operations, the risk that
we will not be able to continue to execute on our currently
contemplated business plan and/or will revise our business plan,
the risks related to our strategic transformation (including our
Forward, Faster R&D strategy), including the risk that we may
not achieve the anticipated benefits of such transformation on the
currently envisaged timeline or at all, and the risks and
uncertainties related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A
further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and
other risks can be found in our filings and reports with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in our most
recent annual report on Form 20‐F filed with the SEC and our
subsequent filings and reports filed with the SEC. Given these
risks and uncertainties, the reader is advised not to place any
undue reliance on such statements. In addition, even if our
results, performance, financial condition and liquidity, and the
development of the industry in which it operates are consistent
with such forward-looking statements, they may not be predictive of
results or developments in future periods. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of publication of this
release. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update any such
forward-looking statements in this press release, unless required
by law or regulation.
1 Acting via Stoffels IMC BV2 DNA-Encoded Libraries (DEL) is the
principle of coding individual chemical transformations with DNA -
paving the way for the rapid synthesis and screening of large
collections of molecules (DNA-Encoded Libraries). Significant
investments in the development of the DEL technology have
contributed to enhancing the drug discovery process, especially in
early phase discovery undertakings, such as target validation and
hit identification.3 Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM)
is an electron microscopy (EM) technique applied to samples of
proteins - cooled to cryogenic temperatures and embedded
in an environment of vitreous water. Today this technology is used
by several large pharmaceutical companies – NovAliX believes it is
key to the discovery of novel molecules addressing targets
previously not accessible by structure-based drug design.
- PR_GLPG RMV Novalix_EN_FINAL
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