Galapagos receives EUREKA innovation label and OSEO funding

Mechelen, Belgium - Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announces that its antibody therapeutics program with MorphoSys and SARM program have been awarded funding by the French governmental organization OSEO. Accordingly, the Paris-based Galapagos R&D center will receive interest free loans from OSEO worth €1.2 M over the next two years. Galapagos will use the loans to help fund the pre-clinical development of SARM candidate drug GLPG0492 for cachexia and the antibody alliance with MorphoSys.

The Galapagos-MorphoSys antibody alliance also has been awarded the innovation label (E! 5036 GALASYS) by EUREKA, a European network that enhances European competitiveness through international collaboration. With the EUREKA label, Galapagos received the no-interest loan from the French governmental organization OSEO to help fund its part of the alliance. The EUREKA label recognizes the partners’ combined cutting-edge capabilities to generate novel antibody therapeutics, a rapidly growing market currently worth over €20 billion. Galapagos and MorphoSys are developing fully human antibodies, which are recognized as the next generation of therapeutic antibodies.

“This attractive financing that our Paris-based R&D center has received from OSEO will support two highly innovative programs which we otherwise would have had to finance internally,” said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. “Both of these programs are on-track, with the SARM candidate drug scheduled to enter the clinic early next year.”

About EUREKA
EUREKA was established in 1985 with the objective of strengthening European competitiveness in the world market and raising the profile and level of European technologies. This is realized though the promotion of European industrial cooperation in market-oriented R&D projects, aimed at the creation of advanced technology applications. As a result, EUREKA has become a catalyst for pan-European cooperation between enterprises and research institutes across Europe. This cooperation is primarily aimed at bringing products, processes and services to the market. Due to its bottom-up approach (projects are always defined by participants), EUREKA complements other European initiatives such as the EU Framework Programs, COST, ESA and CERN. More info at: www.eureka.be

About OSEO
OSEO was created in 2005 by bringing together ANVAR (French Innovation Agency) and BDPME (Development Bank for SMEs). OSEO’s mission is to provide assistance and financial support to French SMEs in the most decisive phases of their life cycle: start up, innovation, development, business transfer/buy out. By sharing the risk, OSEO facilitates the access of SMEs to financing by banking partners and equity capital investors. More info at: www.oseo.fr

About Galapagos’ SARM candidate drug
Galapagos’ SARM candidate drug, GLPG0492, is an orally-available small molecule therapeutic, which has demonstrated successful Proof of Concept in pre-clinical studies for cachexia (the loss of weight and muscle mass). In addition to the cachexia indication, Charley’s Fund and the Nash Avery Foundation will support the costs of pre-clinical studies to assess the potential effectiveness of GLPG0492 in treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Galapagos is currently conducting pre-clinical development for GLPG0492, and plans to initiate a Phase I clinical trial in healthy volunteers in the beginning of 2010.

About the Galapagos-MorphoSys antibody alliance in bone and joint diseases
In November 2008, Galapagos and MorphoSys entered a co-development alliance aimed at discovering and developing antibody therapies based on novel modes of action in bone & joint disease, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. The alliance spans activities from target discovery through to completion of Proof of Concept clinical trials of novel therapeutic antibodies. Both companies contribute their core technologies and expertise to the alliance. Galapagos provides antibody targets implicated in bone & joint disease in addition to its adenoviral target discovery platform to discover further targets for antibody development. MorphoSys contributes its HuCAL antibody technologies to generate fully human antibodies directed against these targets. The initial goal is to further validate the targets through disease-specific in vitro and in vivo testing of the antibodies. After successful validation, the alliance will select antibody programs for pre-clinical and clinical development. Following Proof of Concept in human clinical trials, programs will be partnered for subsequent development, approval and marketing. Under the terms of the agreement, Galapagos and MorphoSys will share the research and development costs, as well as all future revenues equally.

About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG; OTC: GLPYY) is a drug discovery and development company with small molecule programs in bone and joint diseases, bone metastasis, cachexia, anti-infectives and metabolic diseases. It has established risk sharing alliances with GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Eli Lilly and Merck and Co. Through an alliance with MorphoSys, Galapagos is also developing new antibody therapies in bone and joint diseases. Its division BioFocus offers a full suite of target-to-drug discovery products and services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies and to patient foundations, encompassing target discovery and validation, screening and drug discovery through to delivery of pre-clinical candidates. Galapagos currently employs 495 people and operates facilities in six countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. More info at: www.glpg.com

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