Galapagos’ ambition is to consolidate its societal and economic footprint in France
Last Monday 11 July, Galapagos was invited for the second time to the Choose France summit at the Château de Versailles. A fantastic recognition for the 23 years of sustained research and development of our company, and for the choice we have made in 2007 to settle and invest in France. It was also a valuable opportunity to share our ambition to be a European leader and to explore the partnerships and the levers offered by the French government to accelerate innovation.
Written by Fabrice Michiels (Country Head at Galapagos France)
Last Monday 11 July, Galapagos was invited for the second time to the Choose France summit at the Château de Versailles. A fantastic recognition for the 23 years of sustained research and development of our company, and for the choice we have made in 2007 to settle and invest in France. It was also a valuable opportunity to share our ambition to be a European leader and to explore the partnerships and the levers offered by the French government to accelerate innovation.
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Paul Stoffels (CEO Galapagos) at the Palace of Versailles
Paul Stoffels, our CEO, represented Galapagos to share with the French government our ambition and desire to consolidate the societal and economic footprint of Galapagos in France. In 2007, Galapagos established its R&D teams in Romainville, in Seine Saint-Denis, and more recently in 2019, its operating pharmaceutical laboratory, combining medical and commercial activities, in La Défense. 670 million euros were invested in R&D in France over the period 2014-2021 and this has enabled us to develop a cutting-edge technological research platform and to contribute to the re-industrialization of the Biocitech Park, working with R&D service companies in France and Europe. 500m2 of new laboratories have been built in 2021, in addition to the 6,000m2 already in existence.
Our R&D center contributed to the research and development of our first medicine, which was made available to patients in France, Europe and Japan for rheumatoid arthritis and was recently granted a new European Marketing Authorisation for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Galapagos aims to further develop programmes in different disease areas with significant unmet medical needs, for which our state-of-the-art research facilities in France play a key role. Our next innovations are on the way and can be accelerated by multidisciplinary collaborations, both public and private, in particular through a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of pathologies. Our ability to enter into partnerships with expertise networks in France will be decisive.
We plan to consolidate our footprint in France to meet the challenges of health independence and European sovereignty, which are government priorities. We also intend to actively explore the partnerships offered by the Health Innovation 2030 plan to improve knowledge of chronic inflammatory diseases and accelerate the development of the most innovative therapeutic solutions. Our presence at the second edition of Choose France helped to underpin our ambition and pave the way towards future successes.
About Fabrice
Hi, I’m Fabrice. I’ve been working in the life sciences industry for many years, which brought me to exciting places all over the world, ranging from Japan and the US to Switzerland and Poland. Wherever I go, I want to make a positive impact for society. At Galapagos, I’m leading the French team, a wonderful group of talented Make-it-happeners who helped building Galapagos’ presence from scratch. Together, we are pioneering for patients!