Deals
Galapagos Evolves Into Target With Arthritis Drug Test: Real M&A
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Galapagos NV’s promising arthritis pill makes it a tempting takeover target for two pharmaceutical giants -- AbbVie Inc. and Johnson & Johnson -- that just fought it out last week over an acquisition.
The $650 million Belgian drug developer is poised to announce the results from a mid-stage trial, dubbed Darwin 1, of its experimental treatment filgotinib by mid-April. The company’s partner, North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie, and J&J, which already owns a stake in Galapagos, are both losing patent protection for their own blockbuster arthritis remedies, Humira and Remicade.