Galapagos' service division BioFocus will perform the research and is eligible to receive US$41 million (€31 million) in research fees during the five-year collaboration.

BioFocus will apply its full range of integrated drug discovery services for this program.  Integrated biology and chemistry capabilities will be supported by BioFocus' expertise in complex primary neuronal assay development, high-content screening, fragment-based screening, computational chemistry, ADME/PK and protein crystallography.  The new agreement announced today continues and expands the collaboration started in August 2005.
 
"Having collaborated with CHDI since 2005 in therapeutic target discovery, we are eager to continue working together to develop novel therapies for Huntington's disease and meet this urgent medical need," said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos.  "We are confident that the next five years of this long-standing relationship with CHDI will be as productive as the first five."
 
"BioFocus has delivered expert technologies and experienced staff to therapeutic target and drug discovery research in the fight against Huntington's disease," said Ignacio Munoz-Sanjuan, Vice-President, Biology at CHDI.  "This has encouraged us to extend and expand the collaboration, with the ultimate goal of finding disease-modifying treatments for Huntington's."
 
About Huntington's Disease
Huntington's disease is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by a mutation in the huntingtin gene.  Each child of a parent with a mutation in the huntingtin gene has a 50-50 chance of inheriting the mutation.  As a result of carrying the mutation, an individual's brain cells fail and die leading to cognitive and physical impairments that, over the course of the disease, significantly impair the individual's quality of life and ultimately cause death.  It is estimated that one person in 10,000 carries a mutation in the huntingtin gene.  There is currently no way to delay the onset of symptoms or slow the progression of Huntington's disease.