Galapagos Takes Dramatic U-Flip, Ditching Spinout Plan, Cell Remedy and CEO Stoffels

After some extra thought and market developments, Galapagos is reversing course on a collection of plans that concerned spinning out a portion of the corporate and discovering a brand new CEO over the subsequent yr. Paul Stoffels will nonetheless exit the corporate, simply prior to anticipated. And the Belgian biotech will discover the potential sale of a clutch of cell remedy property, which Stoffels introduced into the corporate’s fold by way of a collection of acquisitions over the previous three years.

It’s one other wild twist within the story of Galapagos. The corporate, which has been round for greater than 1 / 4 century, has but to get a remedy authorized. A collection of scientific failures stacked up earlier than Stoffels took the helm in 2022 and promised a turnaround in 5 years. However his departure was introduced two years shy of that timeframe, and now, it appears, the corporate is abandoning what Stoffels constructed and sending the previous Johnson & Johnson exec out the door early.

Stoffels is to get replaced as CEO of Galapagos by Henry Gosebruch, who had been appointed CEO of the brand new spinout firm in April. Stoffels has additionally been changed as chair of the Galapagos board by Jérôme Contamine, however he’ll stay concerned in an advisory capability, particularly centered on discovering a house for the corporate’s cell remedy property.

The technique is an about-face from plans introduced in early January—a transfer triggered by unspecificed “regulatory and market developments,” Galapagos stated in a Tuesday launch. As an alternative of spinning out a brand new firm with $2.5 billion in capital to execute offers for brand new property, Galapagos will conduct “transformative enterprise growth transactions” in home whereas exploring strategic options for the cell remedy property that it had beforehand deliberate to maintain below the corporate banner.

The spinout had been anticipated to be accomplished mid-year, and Galapagos had already taken strides towards the reorganization. However with a few month and a half to go till the tip of the second quarter, Gosebruch will now be in command of main the strategic course of to judge Galapagos’ present property and use the assets beforehand earmarked for the spinout to construct a brand new pipeline by way of enterprise growth.

“We’re presently evaluating strategic choices concerning our scientific applications and different property,” new CEO Gosebruch stated in a press release. “I look ahead to working with Paul [Stoffels] to find a value-maximizing different for the cell remedy enterprise together with exploring mergers, divestures, and out-licensing. In parallel, we’ll pursue transformative enterprise growth alternatives to be able to construct an modern pipeline with the potential to ship differentiated medicines for sufferers.”

Among the many cell remedy property Stoffels is home looking for are Galapagos’ lead program GLPG5101 and the corporate’s decentralized cell remedy manufacturing platform. The GLPG5101 program spanned a handful of B cell blood cancers, together with mantle cell lymphoma and power lymphocytic leukemia. Probably the most superior was a Section II scientific trial for follicular lymphoma or marginal zone lymphoma.