Galapagos acquires Argenta Discovery's service operations
Belgian biotechnology company Galapagos has bought Argenta Discovery 2009, a UK-based privately held contract research drug discovery company with 140 staff, for Euro 16.5m.
Belgian biotechnology company Galapagos has bought Argenta Discovery 2009, a UK-based privately held contract research drug discovery company with 140 staff, for Euro 16.5m.
Galapagos said the combination of Argenta with its BioFocus service division creates one of the world's largest drug discovery service organisations, with 390 employees, an estimated €70m in annual turnover and significant profitability. It also brings additional capacity and drug discovery capabilities to the Galapagos Group.
Argenta's respiratory development programmes will continue as a new privately held company called Pulmagen Therapeutics. Galapagos will have no ownership in Pulmagen.
"Today's acquisition creates a true powerhouse in the drug discovery services market. It also provides Galapagos r&d with additional capacity, capabilities and access to respiratory models for our internal r&d efforts," said Onno van de Stolpe, ceo of Galapagos.
Galapagos has purchased Argenta's medicinal and computational chemistry, ADME and biology activities, as well as the respiratory models and pharmacokinetics operations.
Post-acquisition, Galapagos' service division operations will employ 390 staff in the UK, Switzerland and the US.
John Montana will run the acquired divisions of Argenta, reporting to Christopher Newton, senior vice president of Galapagos. Newton was chief scientific officer at Argenta Discovery from 2000 to 2005, prior to joining BioFocus.
"With this move, we combine forces to create a drug discovery services entity with unparalleled depth and breadth," he said.
