The perfect scenario
The price reaction is justified, but can be seen as exaggerated. Galapagos worked on the drug for no less than thirteen years and it can still make enough adjustments. However, this requires investigations. Money is not a problem, the company still has enough money in hand. With a cash position of over $5.7 billion, the company has a very healthy status. In addition, Galapagos has five major drugs in development, plus approximately 25 more discovery programs.
If Galapagos is allowed to sell the rheumatism drug in the United States, sales will surely increase. The medicine’s potential sales are therefore in the billions. For filgotinib, analysts expect revenue of between $4 and $6 billion per year. Galapagos will have to share that income from filgotinib with partner Gilead. This American biotech company contributes to the research that is being done on the drug. In return, Gilead is allowed to market the drug in the US, the main drug market. The other products in the pipeline can also make a nice contribution to the turnover in the future. For example, the drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is already in stage 3.