Pharnext and Galapagos successfully achieved their research and development collaboration
PARIS, France, 8:00 am, September 9, 2019 (CET) – Pharnext SA (FR0011191287 - ALPHA), a biopharmaceutical company pioneering a new approach to developing innovative drug combinations based on big genomics data and artificial intelligence, today announced the successful completion of its research and development collaboration with Galapagos NV (Euronext & NASDAQ: GLPG), a late-stage clinical biotechnology company specialized in the discovery and development of small molecule medicines with novel mechanisms of action.
The collaboration aims to generate a new drug development pipeline in several therapeutic areas for Galapagos, including immunoinflammatory disorders. Namely, the collaboration was focused on the identification of:
• Additional therapeutic indications for Galapagos’ clinical drug candidates,
• Novel candidates for combinations with Galapagos’ current portfolio of drug candidates, and
• New therapeutic targets in indications pre-defined by Galapagos.
Together, Pharnext and Galapagos have met their objectives.
Leveraging its innovative PLEOTHERAPYTM platform, Pharnext successfully identified additional therapeutic indications for Galapagos’ candidate drugs. Combining Galapagos’ expertise in holistic pharmaceutical development with Pharnext’s cutting-edge approach, several of these new indications were further prioritized for experimental validation studies in animal models, in which Galapagos’ candidate drugs demonstrated efficacy.
Pharnext’s PLEOTHERAPYTM platform also identified multiple approved drugs to combine with Galapagos’ candidate drugs in order to create a more potent effect in these selected indications. Some combinations of Galapagos’ candidate drugs with Pharnext’s identified drugs have already shown a superior effect in relevant animal models.
Finally, Pharnext’s PLEOTHERAPYTM platform identified new targets in therapeutic indications that Galapagos had prioritized initially, supporting Galapagos’ research and development activities in these indications.
“These results reaffirm the robustness of Pharnext’s development of combination drugs and validate its application to potentially any therapeutic area. Pharnext’s innovative approach bolsters the disease treatment path,” said Professor Daniel Cohen, MD, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pharnext. “We are proud to collaborate with Galapagos to generate new treatment options for patients.”
“We want to thank Pharnext for the rewarding collaboration, which has led to the identification of interesting novel combinations that are now in advanced preclinical testing,” said Piet Wigerinck, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Galapagos.
This collaboration aims to expand the market of these novel combinations to new indications. Generating new patents should increase the value of these new compounds.