Under the terms of the agreement, Galapagos’ service division BioFocus will perform medicinal chemistry services on a series of Cancer Research Technology (CRT) anticancer drug programs. In return, CRT will fund the work of four BioFocus scientists throughout 2006.
“Our relationship with BioFocus, in conjunction with existing in-house R&D resource, will ensure that these programs are advanced rapidly through early-stage development, thereby creating robust licensing opportunities and cancer patient benefit,” said Tony Raynham, CRT’s head of medicinal chemistry.
Cancer remains one of the world’s most pressing health concerns. According to Cancer Research UK, physicians estimate that one in three people will get some form of cancer at some stage in life.
“This agreement testifies to the high quality of BioFocus’ medicinal chemistry expertise and the overall competitiveness of our integrated services portfolio,” said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. “We also are pleased to assist Cancer Research Technology in the fight against cancer.”