The new agreement includes all classes of targets, including ion channel, GPCR, and kinase.

Galapagos’ service division, BioFocus DPI, extended its drug discovery collaboration with Amgen until 2007 and 2008. The initial collaboration, announced in January 2003, involved the identification of lead candidates against multiple ion channel targets. The new agreement  is expanded to include all classes of targets, including ion channel, GPCR, and kinase targets.


Additionally, the agreement will include the supply of BioFocus DPI’s compound collection comprising 700,000 synthetic small molecules and its natural product compound collection containing 145,000 prepurified subfractions, pure natural products, and semisynthetic natural products.


“The additional breadth and depth gained by BioFocus DPI’s drug discovery offering this year have helped us to expand our strong collaborative relationship with Amgen,” explains Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. “We are excited that the potential hits arising from BioFocus DPI’s unique library collections could provide promising lead candidates for Amgen’s discovery programs over the next two years.”


Under the terms of the extended agreement, Galapagos will receive an upfront fee of $2.4 million as a payment for 2007 research costs. Additionally, Galapagos may receive compensation in the form of library- and technology-access fees, research fees, milestone payments, and bonuses.


BioFocus will continue to provide biology, computational, and medicinal chemistry services and will supply biologically directed library compounds to Amgen’s discovery programs.

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