Biotechnology company Galapagos is splitting into two listed companies and is carrying out a reorganization that will result in the loss of 300 jobs in Europe, the company announced on Wednesday. In Mechelen, where the company is based, 200 jobs will disappear.
With the split, Galapagos says it wants to unlock shareholder value. A new company will be created with €2.45 billion in cash and will focus on building a pipeline of innovative medicines through acquisitions. This company targets transactions involving promising pharmaceutical programs or companies active in virology, immunology or oncology among others. “It will not be an investment vehicle but a real pharmaceutical company,” specifies a spokesperson. “And with a broader portfolio than Galapagos.”
Looking for a buyer
The Galapagos company that will continue to exist will be dedicated to cell therapy in oncology, the activity on which the company has focused since 2022. This means that Galapagos is interrupting its “small molecules” activity and is looking for a buyer potential. The cessation of this activity involves a reorganization which should lead to the elimination of around 300 jobs in Europe, the equivalent of 40% of the staff. Jobs are threatened in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. This reorganization should lead to a “significant reduction” of the workforce in Belgium and the closure of the site in France.
300 jobs lost in Europe, 200 in Belgium
The Galapgos headquarters will nevertheless remain in Mechelen, where 200 jobs will be eliminated. “The four restructurings in four years at Galapagos are unique in Belgium,” reacts Diana Minten, representative of the socialist union BBTK.
