Galapagos receives milestone payment for first clinical trial in GSK arthritis alliance

Belgian drug discovery company Galapagos has begun clinical Phase I development of the first small molecule candidate from its arthritis alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

For entering the clinic with candidate drug GLPG0555, Galapagos receives a milestone payment of Euro 4m in cash from GSK. Since the start of the arthritis alliance in June 2006, Galapagos has received a total of €35m in payments from GSK.

The orally available, novel candidate drug GLPG0555 modifies kinase target GT622. The company says it has demonstrated excellent activity in biochemical and animal models and has successfully completed pre-clinical development.

"This trial marks the first of what we would hope to be many programmes from the arthritis alliance with GSK to enter the clinic," said Onno van de Stolpe, chief executive of Galapagos.

With the initiation of this Phase I trial, Galapagos now has four candidate drugs in clinical development (Phase I and Phase II).

This first-in-human trial will determine the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of GLPG0555. The double blind, single ascending and multiple dose studies will be conducted in 34 healthy human volunteers in Belgium over the coming months.