Galapagos enters $8.1M CF drug discovery accord

Belgian drug discovery Galapagos NV and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, a non-profit affiliate of the USA-based Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, have entered a new collaboration aimed at discovering new treatments for the disease worth up to 5.5 million euros ($8.1 million) for the Belgian group.

The accord will combine two key strengths of Galapago's BioFocus DPI division - 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.

Under the terms of the deal, Galapagos stands to receive up to 1.6 million euros in upfront and R&D fees over the next two years, and up to 3.8 million euros in success-based milestones, 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.