Scipher Medicine and Galapagos Sign Collaboration in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

MECHELEN, BELGIUM, AND BOSTON, MA — August 12, 2020 — Galapagos NV (Euronext & Nasdaq: GLPG) and Scipher Medicine (Scipher), a Boston based privately held precision medicine company focused on autoimmune diseases, announce a collaboration to advance novel drug targets identified by Scipher for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Scipher combines its proprietary Network Medicine Platform with molecular patient data and AI-based methods to identify novel targets and pathways in autoimmune diseases, including IBD.

Scipher and Galapagos will jointly validate a suite of novel IBD targets discovered by Scipher after which Galapagos has the exclusive option to progress up to five targets into further drug discovery and development. Under the terms of the agreement, Scipher is eligible to receive upfront, opt-in and milestone payments and Galapagos will retain the rights for the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for the selected target(s).

“Our breakthrough approach combines extensive patient-level molecular data with AI methods to discover novel targets with the potential to treat specific groups of patients, including those not responding to therapies currently available,” said Alif Saleh, chief executive officer of Scipher Medicine. “This partnership with Galapagos is a recognition of our innovative approach to discover and validate novel targets that could offer a solution for IBD patients.”

“The collaboration with Scipher is aligned with our strategy to discover and develop novel modes of action medicines with the potential to disrupt current treatment paradigms to address high unmet needs in inflammatory diseases,” says Piet Wigerinck, Chief Scientific Officer of Galapagos. “We believe that our drug discovery and development expertise alongside Scipher’s platform will support us in the discovery of exciting new drug candidates.”