Galapagos initiates the third and final test phase for filgotinib, a candidate drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis, a potential flagship product. They do this in collaboration with US partner Gilead.
The study consists of three different tests in which the effectiveness of filgotinib is tested both in patients having an early stage of rheumatoid arthritis as well as in patients who previously received other treatments.
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The start of these tests was expected: Last May, Galapagos received permission to perform these tests from the US and European authorities.
Gilead strongly believes in the potential of this drug as they paid several hundred million euros to acquire the license on this drug and they also financed most of the R&D. In combination with Galapagos’s successful IPO on Nasdaq, Galapagos can now dispose of a budget of 1 billion euros.