Galapagos NV (ADR) (NASDAQ:GLPG) has raised the initial public offering (IPO) stake of around $290 or €258 million, and the results seem to have been positive. The first trading day at Nasdaq helped the shares grow by 20.10%. According to the company Founder and CEO Onno van de Stolpe was very happy to be on the Nasdaq and was sure that this would help Galapagos to emerge as a strong contender in diverse markets.
Analysts are hoping that AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are both going to grab a major chunk of the offered stakes to strengthen their rheumatoid arthritis treatment market. Galapagos is riding high on the success of the Phase 2 B clinical trials for the filgotinib drug for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, for which it is working in collaboration with AbbVie.
Raising Funds For Future Research
Currently, the company is looking to raising funds from the IPO for other upcoming projects and ongoing research for breakthrough drug programs. Talking about the AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) and Johnson & Johnson interest, van de Stolpe said that the two companies can take their research forward and market it in global markets. Galapagos would be entitled to receive royalties from the sales.
Abbvie has already got a drug called Humira in the market in the treatment of the particular type of arthritis, and as the patent is expiring, the Galapagos drug seems to be offering new pathways. Van de Stolpe said that the company was in need of a second-generation drug, and that was something that his company was keen to offer.
Galapagos Has Big Plans
The company has doubled the amount to be raised from its last month filing and has on offered around 6 million shares that are 28% of what it was making available earlier this week. The increased percentage is mostly for the investors from outside America, especially the European and other countries. Earlier only one fifth of the total shares were set aside for the markets outside the U.S. and Canada, but in an attempt to diversify into other markets, this was raised to one-third.
