Galapagos awarded milestone payment from Boehringer Ingelheim

Belgium based genomic drug discovery company Galapagos has revealed that its BioFocus DPI service division received a milestone payment in the autoimmune discovery research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim.

The three-year collaboration announced in January 2006 involves an expansion of BioFocus DPI's SilenceSelect RNA based gene collection with an additional gene set, the development of a dedicated cellular assay in the field of autoimmune diseases, and its application in a target discovery screen for Boehringer Ingelheim's autoimmune discovery research.

Galapagos obtained upfront fees and will continue to receive R&D funding, and will receive milestone fees when certain drug discovery criteria are met. Should all criteria on a target be achieved, total potential contract value for Galapagos coudl exceed EUR 2m (USD 2.7m).

Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos, said: "This milestone speaks to BioFocus DPI's ability to deliver on longer term, higher value collaborations. We are delighted that the collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim has progressed as planned and is on track to continue delivering value."