Galapagos NV has expanded the alliance in antibacterials and antivirals with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to include three more discovery targets. For this expansion, Galapagos receives a payment from GSK of EUR 2 million cash. In December 2007, GSK and Galapagos initiated a program to discover and develop novel anti-infective drug candidates for GSK’s Infectious Diseases Centre of Excellence in Drug Discovery (ID CEDD). Galapagos is responsible for the discovery and development of natural product drug candidates through to clinical Proof of Concept, at which point GSK will have exclusive option to license each compound for further development and commercialization on a worldwide basis. Today’s agreement further broadens the scope of the alliance between the two companies through the nomination of three additional GSK targets. Under the terms of the alliance, Galapagos could be eligible to receive up to EUR 95 million in upfront fees, development and regulatory milestones payments for each product candidate. If a product is commercialized, Galapagos may receive up to EUR 120 million for achievement of specific sales milestones. Galapagos is also eligible to receive up to double-digit royalties on worldwide sales of alliance products. “Following on the success and expansion of our osteoarthritis alliance, we are pleased that GSK has also expanded the anti-infectives alliance to include three additional targets,” said Onno van de Stolpe, Chief Executive Officer of Galapagos. “Together with the current programs advancing toward the clinic, we aim to progress these new anti-infective targets to deliver Phase IIa clinical candidates to GSK.”
