Arthrogen was founded in 2005 as a joint venture between the Dubai Bone & Joint Center (DBAJ) in the United Arab Emirates and the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Under the terms of the agreement, BioFocus will extend its SilenceSelect collection with new gene sets, set up cellular assays and screen the expanded SilenceSelect collection in the assays. The human protein targets identified in the screens will then be characterized and validated.
In return, Galapagos will receive from Arthrogen an upfront payment and R&D funding and will be eligible for development milestones. Should all criteria on a target be achieved, revenues for Galapagos with respect to such target may exceed E7.5 million.
Additionally, Galapagos is entitled to receive royalties on any marketed products that may arise from the alliance.
“Arthrogen strongly believes that the dedicated target discovery technologies from Galapagos will increase the quantity and the quality of Arthrogen’s product pipeline, and will accelerate Arthrogen’s programs to bring innovative local gene therapy products for rheumatoid arthritis to the clinic and the market,” said Willem van Oort, CEO of Arthrogen.