Galapagos To Re-evaluate Separation Plan, To Explore Alternatives For Existing Businesses; Names CEO
(RTTNews) - Galapagos NV (GLPG), a Belgian biotechnology company, on Tuesday announced its plan to re-evaluate its previously proposed separation plan and to explore all strategic alternatives for its existing businesses.
As part of the strategic update, the Board of Directors has appointed Henry Gosebruch as Chief Executive Officer of Galapagos and Executive Director of the Board by way of co-optation, replacing Paul Stoffels, effective immediately.
Jérôme Contamine, member of the Galapagos Board of Directors, has been appointed Chair of the Board of Galapagos.
The company said its Board of Directors has decided to re-evaluate the previously proposed separation into two publicly traded entities with Galapagos to advance novel cell therapies and SpinCo, a new biotechnology company focused on building a pipeline of innovative medicines through transformational transactions.
Further, Galapagos will explore all strategic alternatives for its existing businesses, including cell therapy, with a focus on maximizing resources available for transformative business development transactions.
It was on January 8 that Galapagos announced its intention to separate into two publicly traded entities. The planned separation, subject to shareholder approval and other customary conditions, was expected by mid-2025. The company now noted that it has made significant progress in reorganizing its business towards the separation, and the decision to re-evaluate the plan was taken following regulatory and market developments.
On April 21, Galapagos announced that its Board appointed Gosebruch as Founding CEO of SpinCo as well as the retirement of Stoffels as CEO of Galapagos.
In the expanded role, Gosebruch will now lead the strategic evaluation process for Galapagos' current business, and in parallel, focus on building a pipeline of innovative medicines through transformative business development transactions, leveraging the company's strong balance sheet and cash resources.
Stoffels will remain with the company in an advisory capacity and assist in the evaluation of strategic options for the cell therapy pipeline assets under development at Galapagos. This includes its flagship program, GLPG5101, and its innovative decentralized cell therapy manufacturing platform.
