| Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan or any other jurisdiction where this is not allowed pursuant to local legal restrictions Galapagos NV applies for listing on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam Mechelen, Belgium, April 15, 2005 – Galapagos NV, a genomics-based drug discovery company, today announces the details of its intended capital increase and stock exchange listing on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam. The price for the shares is expected to be between € 8.00 and € 10.00. Subscription for the shares will be open as of Monday April 18, 2005. The prospectus will be available as of Saturday April 16, 2005. Galapagos has appointed KBC Securities and Kempen & Co as joint lead managers and joint book runners and Fortis Bank as co-manager. Offering,
over-allotment and listing Subscription
and pricing Rationale
for the offering and use of proceeds “We
feel that Galapagos is ready to continue its life as a public
company,” says Onno van de Stolpe, CEO. “The
company has made substantial progress over the past few
years and now has a promising pipeline of disease-modifying
targets and molecules for the bone and joint diseases. The
combination of our high upside drug discovery program with
our profitable service division provides an attractive competitive
edge in the biotechnology industry. Our long list of corporate
partners shows the acceptance of our technology by the industry
and provides quality of recurring revenues.” Galapagos’
activities Galapagos’ target discovery platform is based on adenoviruses that efficiently introduce human gene sequences into a wide variety of human cells to knock-in or knock-down specific proteins. High-throughput assays that represent a selected human disease state are then used to functionally select for those proteins that have a causative effect in those models of human disease. After rigorous validation of these protein targets, they form the basis for the development of drugs. Galapagos is convinced that the targets identified by its technology are of such high quality that they have an enhanced chance of leading to a successful introduction of a new drug on the market In addition to forming the basis of Galapagos’ internal target discovery activities, these adenoviral collections and screening technology are also made available to pharmaceutical companies and academic institutes through Galadeno, Galapagos’ services unit. Numerous partners have already applied Galapagos’ technology across a number of disease areas, aiding the pharmaceutical and scientific communities to better understand the cause of disease and further progressing the development of new drugs. Galapagos was founded in 1999 as a joint venture between Crucell (Euronext Amsterdam) and Tibotec (subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson). The joint venture operated until 2002 when the company raised € 23.4 million in a private placement, which brought in reputed international life sciences investors: Abingworth, AlpInvest, Apax and Burrill. Galapagos
currently employs 66 people, including 16 PhDs, and occupies
facilities in Mechelen, Belgium, and Leiden, The Netherlands.
Galapagos’ executive committee consists of: Galapagos has built a promising drug target and discovery pipeline and a profitable service division. Partners include Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, GSK, Vertex and Wyeth. Galapagos has identified and validated drug targets in all its disease areas. The progression of targets into small molecule drug discovery and the subsequent pre-clinical and clinical phases of development require large financial and operational resources and the company has therefore decided to focus its internal efforts on the bone and joint disease programs. The asthma program, including the validated target set has been out-licensed to GlaxoSmithKline late last year, while the targets in the Alzheimer’s disease area are scheduled to be out-licensed. Recent
developments As a result of the deal closings, Galapagos increased its revenues for 2004 to € 7.8 million from € 6.5 million in 2003. At the same time, the Company has been able to maintain its expenses at the same level as the previous year. The 2004 revenues include € 2.4 million in grant income. Galapagos ended the year 2004 with a cash position of € 10.3 million. Galapagos’ disease programs have all yielded validated targets in 2004. The most advanced drug discovery project focuses on progressing three targets in the rheumatoid arthritis program. Galapagos has recently brought two targets identified in its osteoporosis program and one target from its osteoarthritis program into drug discovery, which is the start for the development of a new drug.
Galapagos
N.V. Smink,
van der Ploeg & Jongsma
The Galapagos shares have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 as amended (the Securities Act), or with any other securities regulatory authority of any State of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act (and applicable State securities laws). There will be no offer of Galapagos shares in the United States. |
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