More than 20 years ago, Paul Stoffels helped form Belgian biotechnology company Galapagos NV. Now he’s headed back to lead an effort to revive it.
A prominent drug developer and public-health specialist who stepped down from his role as Johnson & Johnson’s top scientist in December, Stoffels will now seek to bolster Galapagos’s pipeline after research and development setbacks pushed its shares down about 80% from an early 2020 peak. News of his appointment as chief executive officer sent Galapagos shares up as much as 19% Thursday, their biggest intraday gain since July 2019.
