Date: 2013-01-30
Type of information: Grant
Company: Galapagos (Belgium)
Investors: Flemish agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) (Belgium)
Amount: €2.5 million
Funding type: grant
Planned used: The grant will be used for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research and development.
Others: Galapagos has been awarded a €2.5 million grant from the Flemish agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research and development. The goal of this 2.5-year project is to identify new therapeutic compounds for future treatment of IBD patients.
The general purpose of the IWT-funded program is to gain better insight in the roles of GPR43 and two undisclosed targets in the pathobiology of chronic inflammatory disorders, in order to understand their therapeutic value. Galapagos will collaborate in this project with Professor Dr Paul Rutgeerts and Professor Dr Séverine Vermeire from the Catholic University of Leuven, and the research group of Professor Dr Martine De Vos at Ghent University.
Galapagos has been working in the anti-inflammatory field for a long time, and has several projects with IBD as potential indication. The first compound that will be tested in IBD patients is GLPG0974, an inhibitor of target GPR43 (also known as FFA2). This target is one of the three whose role in IBD will be investigated in this IWT-funded project. Galapagos has recently completed a second Phase I clinical study with GLPG0974, and results are expected to be reported later this quarter. In April Galapagos will start a Proof of Concept study with GLPG0974 in UC.
Therapeutic area: Allergic diseases - Inflammatory diseases - Digestive diseases
