Galapagos Reports Full Year 2024 Results and Provides Fourth Quarter Business Update

Core Insights - Galapagos NV is advancing its GLPG5101 program, a CD19 CAR-T therapy, targeting eight aggressive B-cell malignancies with a goal for first approval by 2028 [1][4] - The company plans to separate into two publicly traded entities, Galapagos and SpinCo, to enhance strategic focus and shareholder value [4][12] - Financial results for 2024 show a net profit of €74.1 million, down from €211.7 million in 2023, with total net revenues increasing by 15% to €275.6 million [12][23] Company Strategy - The company aims to optimize its CD19 CAR-T portfolio by prioritizing GLPG5101 and deprioritizing GLPG5201, focusing on high unmet medical needs in oncology [3][5] - Galapagos is expanding its decentralized cell therapy platform to deliver fresh, stem-like early memory CAR T-cells within a median vein-to-vein time of seven days [2][31] - The company is enhancing its manufacturing capacity through partnerships and decentralized manufacturing units in key regions [8][9] Financial Performance - Galapagos ended 2024 with €3.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, with plans to allocate approximately €2.45 billion to SpinCo [4][26] - Research and development expenses increased by 39% to €335.5 million, primarily driven by oncology cell therapy programs [13][16] - The company reported a total operating loss from continuing operations of €188.3 million in 2024, compared to €88.3 million in 2023 [16][19] Clinical Development - GLPG5101 has shown high objective response rates in clinical trials, with 100% response in mantle cell lymphoma and 95% in marginal zone/follicular lymphoma [8] - The ongoing ATALANTA-1 Phase 1/2 study is expanding to include additional high-risk indications, with patient recruitment ongoing in Europe and plans to enroll U.S. patients [8][9] - Galapagos is also advancing GLPG5301 for multiple myeloma and plans to initiate clinical development of a novel CAR-T candidate in 2025 [6][9] Future Outlook - The company expects to complete the separation into two entities by mid-2025, with Galapagos focusing on its cell therapy pipeline and SpinCo on small molecule assets [4][12] - Galapagos anticipates a normalized annual cash burn of €175 million to €225 million post-separation, with sufficient cash to support operations until 2028 [4][26] - The company aims to present additional data from its clinical studies at medical meetings in 2025, reinforcing its commitment to innovation in oncology [8][9]