- 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 Stoffels[1], 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 database[2] and cryo-EM[3] 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 NovAliX
NovAliX 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.
[1] Acting via Stoffels IMC BV
[2] 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.
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