Fsan schreef op 27 september 2015 21:22:
Interessant artikel:
www.bidnessetc.com/53590-abbvie-aband...Kleine greep uit het artikel
Galapagos announced that it was clueless about AbbVie's intentions to abandon the deal. However, Galapagos does not consider AbbVie’s decision as a huge setback for itself as the company announced that it has already been in negotiations with more than six drug makers who could become its potential partners in graduating filgotinib into late-stage clinical trials.
Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Harrison in one of his notes mentioned: "Galapagos management can negotiate another deal with a key rheumatoid arthritis player and advance filgotinib quickly.”
Galapagos said that the clinical trial results have shown filgotinib to be more effective against AbbVie's experimental drug in aiming the enzymes, which are known to be the cause of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. This seems to increase the chances of Galapagos finding another partner to further develop its arthritis drug.
Galapagos had entered into two development partnerships with AbbVie, one on rheumatoid arthritis and one on cystic fibrosis. Galapagos announced that the other 2 year old partnership between the drug makers on cystic fibrosis is still intact. It was also disclosed that the results from the first initial stage clinical trial on cystic fibrosis can be expected to be announced next year.
Galapagos is also testing the same candidate, filgotinib, and another experimental drug as a potential treatment for irritable bowel disorders. These experimental programs have made Galapagos an interesting takeover target for drug makers such as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and AbbVie which are planning to expand into the said treatment markets.
Earlier in 2015, Galapagos has announced the termination of its collaboration pact with J&J, which the companies entered into in 2007. The companies had agreed to join hands for the development of treatments for inflammatory diseases. The partnership included development of GLPG1690 for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a dangerous lung-scarring condition. After the termination of the partnership, Galapagos is now getting ready to test the candidate in phase II trial on its own.
This suggests that Galapagos might proceed with the development of filgotinib on its own, even if the drug maker fails to find a new development partner. However, it is a highly unlikely scenario, given that Galapagos has over half a dozen potential partners with whom the drug maker is already negotiating.