Staf Van Reet to lead Galapagos Corporate Development

Mechelen, Belgium and Leiden, The Netherlands, March 31, 2005 – Galapagos, a genomics-based drug discovery company, announces that it has appointed Staf Van Reet as VP Corporate Development. Dr. Van Reet will be responsible for in-licensing (pre-)clinical compounds and building a clinical development team at Galapagos. With this appointment, Galapagos further enhances its drug discovery operations, which are predominantly aimed at developing breakthrough medicines for the bone and joint diseases - osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

“We are very pleased to welcome Staf Van Reet on board during this exciting time for Galapagos,” commented Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. “Staf’s many years of experience in the successful discovery and development of medicines will be a valuable asset in furthering Galapagos’ drug discovery activities and in building a first class clinical development program.”

“I am looking forward to building a product pipeline and a clinical development team at Galapagos,” said Staf Van Reet. “After working on the discovery and development of novel medicines during most of my career with Johnson & Johnson, I find it an exciting opportunity to now apply my knowledge and experience in the dynamic and entrepreneurial setting of a biotech company.”

Dr. Van Reet joins Galapagos after many years with Johnson & Johnson. Most recently he was VP of the Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, the corporate venturing unit of Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Van Reet joined Janssen Pharmaceutica, an affiliate of Johnson & Johnson, in 1972 as a scientist and he has had various positions within the company, including President of the Janssen Research Foundation and Managing Director of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. He was also Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Janssen Group. He holds a degree in Applied Biological Sciences and a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Leuven. Additionally, Dr. Van Reet studied Law at the University of Antwerp and is a qualified Belgian and European Patent Attorney.

About Galapagos
Galapagos is a genomics-based drug discovery company that has successfully discovered and validated novel targets in the bone and joint diseases - osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as in asthma and Alzheimer’s disease. Proprietary targets and compounds resulting from these programs are used for Galapagos’ internal discovery programs, combined with selected out-licensing and partnering of projects during development. Galadeno, Galapagos’ services unit, provides reagents and functional screens to leading pharmaceutical, biotech and nutraceutical companies for rapid identification and validation of novel drug targets.
Galapagos currently employs 66 people, including 16 PhDs, and occupies facilities in Mechelen, Belgium, and Leiden, The Netherlands. Partners include Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, GSK, Vertex and Wyeth.
Galapagos was founded in 1999 by Crucell (Nasdaq, Euronext: CRXL) and Tibotec (now an affiliate of J&J) to exploit Crucell’s unique PER.C6® technology for target discovery. The shareholders include Abingworth Management, AlpInvest Partners, Apax Partners, Burrill & Company, Crucell and Tibotec-Virco.

Further information on Galapagos can be found on www.glpg.com.

Contact Galapagos:
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
+32 15 342 900
onno@galapagos.be