Galapagos

Founded in 1999 by Onno van de Stolpe as a spin-out from Tibotec and Crucell, Galapagos grew into one of Belgium's most prominent biotech companies. The company is dual-listed on Euronext Brussels (part of the Bel20 index) and on Nasdaq under the ticker GLPG. Headquarters remain in Mechelen.

In 2024 and 2025 Galapagos went through a major restructuring. The company announced an exit from cell therapy operations, the closure of sites in Leiden, Basel, Princeton, Pittsburgh and Shanghai, and a workforce reduction of around 90 percent. By the end of 2026 the core team is expected to consist of 35 to 40 people across Mechelen and a US hub in Chicago. A previously announced plan to separate the company into two entities was abandoned in May 2025.

The pipeline strategy refocused on small-molecule discovery and biologics, moving away from the autologous CAR-T cell therapy programs that had defined the company in earlier years.