Galapagos, Roche to develop COPD treatments

MECHELEN, Belgium A Belgian biotech company plans to work with Swiss drug maker Roche to develop treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Galapagos announced the agreement Monday, under which it will use its drug-discovery platform to look for new drugs to treat the COPD, which includes such breathing disorders as emphysema and bronchitis that result from air pollution and smoking.

In exchange for the option to license drugs discovered under the program, Roche will pay Galapagos $8.7 million, with potential milestones and royalties exceeding $579.7 million.

“This alliance with Roche on discovering novel COPD targets demonstrates the versatility of Galapagos’ target discovery platform in identifying novel targets across a wide range of therapeutic areas,” Galapagos CEO Onno van de Stolpe said in a statement. “We are excited that this collaboration will focus on both antibodies and small molecules as potential drugs for COPD.”