Galapagos NV and AbbVie announced an extension of their GLPG0634 clinical development collaboration to include Crohn's disease. Galapagos will fund and complete a Phase 2 program in Crohn's disease, which is designed to facilitate rapid progression into Phase 3.

Commercialization of the quality research taking place in Leiden is a key priority of both Leiden University and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). Not only is the research activity itself strengthened, but also the output can be effectively utilized by society for economic and clinical benefit. The role of LURIS is to facilitate this commercialization process for the University and the LUMC.

People worked very hard and all day to hoist the 4,000-kilo spectrometer magnet of the truck and maneuver it through the corridors of the Leiden Faculty of Science. And not without dangers because the floors of the building are not designed for this much weight. Thanks to the necessary precautions the operation succeeded under the watchful eye of excited scientists.

May 7th, College of Mayor and Aldermen decided to stimulate “Leidse Proeftuin Zorg & Welzijn” (Leiden Lab for Health & Wellbeing) with a financial contribution for three years. In this Lab four Leiden knowledge organizations join forces in the search for answers to problems that arise due to the aging population and the reforms in health care.
The knowledge organizations that set up the Leiden Lab for Health & Wellbeing are: Hogeschool Leiden, TNO, Leiden Institute for Brain & Cognition (cooperation of LUMC and Leiden University) and Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing. The Leiden Lab will officially start in June 2013.

to-BBB, the Dutch brain drug delivery company, is proud to announce a EUR 2.5 million financing round supported by its existing investors. The additional resources allow the company to broaden the phase I/IIa study in metastatic and primary brain cancer from two to four indications.

Naturalis Biodiversity Center is going to dig a Tyrannosaurus Rex in Wyoming, USA. The expedition will take place from April 29 to May 18 in cooperation with the Black Hills Institute, Hill City, South Dakota, United States.
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Galapagos NV announced the start of the first Phase 2 clinical study with GLPG0974. This is the third compound from Galapagos' pipeline to enter Phase 2 studies, and its first drug for patients with gastro-intestinal inflammation. GLPG0974 presents a novel mode of action for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, a debilitating inflammatory bowel disease. The efficacy and safety of GLPG0974 will be tested in a four-week study with 45 patients and will deliver topline results early 2014.

Galapagos NV announced that it developed GLPG1790, a novel candidate drug to treat breast cancer. GLPG1790 has shown high activity against breast tumors that are triple-negative, for which the absence of estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) or HER2 receptors affects the prognosis for recovery, and no targeted therapeutic options are currently available.

Szienz, a software company for the life science industry, announced to offer its relations Worknets: A powerful innovative tool for online cooperation. Boosting cooperation between likeminded organizations is important in all sectors, but in the life science sector it is vital. In this sector, partners often have the need to work together.

Pharming Group NV and Santarus, Inc. announced the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain marketing approval for RUCONEST® (recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor) 50 U/kg, an investigational drug for the treatment of acute angioedema attacks in patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE).

Galapagos NV announced an expansion of the Phase 2b program with GLPG0634 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Galapagos will increase the number of patients in the Phase 2b program to 875. AbbVie will provide an additional payment of $20 million to Galapagos prior to the start of the Phase 2b program in RA to fund the program's expansion to 875 patients.

Regional ambassador Wolter Leiseboer with a delegation from the ministry of Economic Affairs visited Hogeschool Leiden and companies Prosensa, Janssen Biologics and Dutch Space at Leiden Bio Science Park.

In March to-BBB participated in a video contest for NWO Bessensap. In this contest scientists were asked to submit a short video pitch about their research. Science journalists and the general public were asked to vote for the video by liking it on YouTube. The top videos would, together with a professional filmmaker, be made into a 5-min film. to-BBB reached out to, amongst others, the Leiden Bio Science Park website, for votes.

ProFibrix B.V., a leader in the development of innovative bioactive products to stop bleeding (hemostasis), announced that the company has completed enrolment of its pivotal Phase III clinical trial with Fibrocaps (FINISH-3) on schedule. FINISH-3 is a multicenter, randomized, single-blind, controlled Phase III trial of Fibrocaps in surgical patients with mild to moderate surgical bleeding.

On April 7 Museum Naturalis in Leiden celbrates its15th anniversary. On that day visitors of Naturalis will receive a smaill gift. To the general public Naturalis is best known as a museum. With an average of 252,000 visitors per year Naturalis has a place in the national top 10 largest museums. What fewer people know is that behind the scenes of this popular museum an international research center is active.
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Are you looking for a job or new career opportunities in the Life Sciences? Or are you looking for talented new employees? Visit BCF Career Event at the 30th of May in Amsterdam RAI. With its 2000 visitors, BCF Career Event is the largest career event for starters and (young) professionals in the Life Sciences, Chemistry, Food and Pharma in Europe. An ideal place for employers and high potentials to meet!

Biotech company Pharming Group NV announced that it has received approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for Sanofi Chimie to manufacture drug substance for Pharming’s product Ruconest® at their Aramon (France) site. Sanofi Chimie is acting as Pharming’s Contract Manufacturing Organization.

Galapagos NV announced that GLPG0974, an inhibitor of FFA2 (free fatty acid receptor 2, formerly known as GPR43) being developed to treat chronic neutrophil-driven inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), showed a clean safety profile and a strong biomarker signal. In this second Phase 1 study with GLPG0974, the safety, tolerability, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics were evaluated in 32 healthy volunteers dosed for 2 weeks. The positive outcome of this study supports progression to a Proof of Concept study in ulcerative colitis patients that is expected to start in 2Q 2013.