Servier and Galapagos entered into the alliance in July 2010 to build on novel OA drug targets discovered by Galapagos through its proprietary platform.
Galapagos is responsible for the discovery and development of new candidate drugs and Servier has an exclusive option to license these after the completion of Phase I clinical trials by Galapagos.
To date, Galapagos has received a total of EUR11mn in payments from Servier under the alliance.
Galapagos CEO Onno van de Stolpe said the milestones involve the optimization of molecules that have shown promise in altering the course of osteoarthritis.
Servier R&D head Emmanuel Canet said this is in line with the company’s commitment to develop disease-modifying drugs for sufferers of uncured diseases, such as OA, a debilitating disease that affects 12% of the world population, leading to severe and costly handicaps.