This year, Galapagos will hire seventy new employees. Galapagos is growing so fast, that the company staff no longer fits into one building. “Since last year, we are located in two buildings in the industrial zone Mechelen Noord. We are currently looking for a larger building in Mechelen,” says Evelyn Fox, spokeswoman for Galapagos. “There are 180 people working in Mechelen, and this number will be increased with seventy extra empolyess. We are especially looking for doctors, project managers and people who are skilled in legislation. These people should have the necessary experience.”
What causes this growth? “We are developing new drugs against various diseases. Our research continously is in progress, so we have to do more tests and therefore need more people. Eventually, we want to become the largest biotechnology company in Europe,” says Fox.
Today, Galapagos is not yet selling drugs. “This will change in 2020, when we will bring our rheumatoid arthritis agent Filgotinib on the market. Filgotinib is a pill that the patient has to take once a day. It works better than the current injections for rheumatoid arthritis. If you take a pill, your pain should be relieved within one week,” says Fox.
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