Galapagos in-licenses novel drug targets for IBD from Scipher

Belgium-based biotech Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG) has exercised its option to in-license novel drug targets for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) discovered by Scipher Medicine’s Spectra platform.

In  August 2020, Galapagos and Scipher Medicine agreed to jointly validate a suite of novel IBD targets discovered by Spectra, whereby Galapagos has the exclusive option to in-license certain validated pre-clinical targets for further development and commercialization. After extensive validation work, Galapagos is moving selected targets into the next phase of drug development, triggering a milestone payment to Scipher and making Scipher eligible to receive additional payments for the achievement of regulatory and sales milestones.

“By partnering with Scipher, we are effectively and efficiently identifying new targets to ultimately develop new therapies to address unmet needs of people with IBD,” said Richard Janssen, head of search and evaluation, at Galapagos.