Galapagos and Bristol University collaborate
Join two-year project to develop treatments for chronic pain
Galapagos and the University of Bristol are to work together to develop treatments for chronic pain associated with diabetes.
The Belgian biotechnology company’s service division, BioFocus, will provide hit-to-lead and lead optimisation services for a Wellcome Trust-funded project at the University of Bristol.
The total contract value for Galapagos could exceed €3.3m in research fees over the next two years.
This work is supported by a Seeding Drug Discovery Award from the Wellcome Trust, to a team of researchers led by David Wynick, Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol.
The project aims to develop a new analgesic drug based on the protein galanin, a small protein that has been shown to reduce chronic pain associated with diabetes (diabetic neuropathic pain) in a number of disease models, including diabetes.
‘Molecules from the BioFocus collection have shown promise in amplifying the therapeutic properties of galanin in models of neuropathic pain,’ said Professor Wynick.
‘In this new collaboration with BioFocus, we aim to optimise these molecules further into potential clinical candidates for the treatment of chronic pain associated with diseases such as diabetes.’
Rick Davis, business development manager at the Wellcome Trust, added: ‘Existing painkillers can prove largely ineffective against neuropathic pain so we are pleased to support this project, which addresses an area of huge unmet clinical need.’
