Galapagos appoints David Smith as CEO of Service Division

Mechelen, Belgium; 20 August 2013 – Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced today the appointment of David Smith as CEO of the service division and member of the Galapagos Executive Committee.

Galapagos’ service division comprises BioFocus and Argenta.  Together with Fidelta, Galapagos has three leaders in premium drug discovery services for pharma, biotech, universities, and patient foundations.  Galapagos’ service division and Fidelta meet clients’ needs for drug discovery tools and expertise by providing a full range of services, from target discovery through to delivery of pre-clinical candidates, including compound libraries, medicinal chemistry and ADME/PK services.  To further optimize the performance and ensure further growth of this division and Fidelta, a CEO position has been created, to be filled by David Smith.  Chris Newton, John Montana and Phil Dudfield will lead BioFocus, Argenta, and Fidelta, respectively, as Managing Director; they will report to David Smith.  David will become member of the Galapagos Executive Committee and report to Galapagos CEO Onno van de Stolpe.


 

David Smith joins Galapagos from the Cambridge University Hospitals where he was Director Finance for six years.  Previously he was CFO of Galapagos for two years, during which he played a key role in several M&A projects to build the service division between 2005 and 2007.  Prior to that, at AstraZeneca he held Marketing Company CFO roles (where he was also a Board member of the AstraZeneca Dutch Holdings Group) and a number of strategic and integration functions within R&D; at Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) he was audit manager to a variety of industries and international clients in Dubai, and post qualification as a Chartered Accountant in Leeds he ran a number of companies in administration.  David holds a degree in Molecular Biophysics from the University of Leeds.

“We welcome David back to Galapagos,” said Onno van de Stolpe, Chief Executive Officer, Galapagos.  “David brings valuable strategic and operational experience to the Galapagos Group, and he is already familiar with the services business from his previous role at the Company.  We have confidence that he can take the successful Service division to the next level.”

About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG; OTC: GLPYY) is specialized in novel modes-of-action, with a large pipeline of four clinical, six pre-clinical, and 20 discovery small-molecule and antibody programs in cystic fibrosis, inflammation, antibiotics, metabolic disease, and other indications.
GLPG0634 is an orally-available, selective inhibitor of JAK1 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and potentially other inflammatory diseases, currently in Phase 2B studies in RA and about to enter Phase 2 studies in Crohn’s disease.  AbbVie and Galapagos signed a worldwide license agreement whereby AbbVie will be responsible for further development and commercialization after Phase 2B.  Galapagos has another selective JAK1 inhibitor in Phase 2 in lupus and psoriasis, GSK2586184 (formerly GLPG0778, in-licensed by GlaxoSmithKline in 2012).  GLPG0974 is the first inhibitor of FFA2 to be evaluated clinically for the treatment of IBD; this program is currently in a Proof-of-Concept Phase 2 study.  GLPG1205 is a first-in-class molecule that targets inflammatory disorders and is currently in a First-in-Human Phase 1 study.
The Galapagos Group, including fee-for-service companies BioFocus, Argenta and Fidelta, has 800 employees and operates facilities in five countries, with global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium.  Further information at: www.glpg.com

CONTACTS

Galapagos NV
Elizabeth Goodwin, Director Investor Relations
Tel: +31 6 2291 6240
ir@glpg.com

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