Galapagos to advance cachexia drug into preclinical development

This candidate drug is a small molecule that Galapagos has developed in its selective androgen receptor modulator program and which has demonstrated successful proof of concept in animal studies.

According to Galapagos, its preclinical candidate G100192 binds very selectively and strongly to targeted androgen receptors, potentially enabling the candidate drug to be efficacious without cardiovascular, prostate, or virility side effects traditionally seen in androgen therapies.

Galapagos aims for once-a-day oral dosing that improves muscle mass and function, with minimal effects on hormonal status of cachexia patients. Animal studies completed thus far encourage the company to continue toward this goal.

The patents for G100192 are pending, providing freedom to operate. This program is an addition to the company’s portfolio of unpartnered R&D programs that address known drug targets, which include an integrin receptor antagonist (IRA) program in bone metastasis and Nanocort, a liposome formulation of prednisolone for acute flares in rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

Onno Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos, said: The G100192 candidate is a remarkable success story. From an almost completely abandoned program in February 2008, our researchers applied rational drug design to come up with a novel compound that has overcome the program hurdles of bioavailability. G100192 shows very exciting efficacy and safety.
“As a consequence, this candidate in cachexia is now well positioned to address a large unmet medical need for which there is only limited competition. We are eager to progress this molecule towards the clinic.”