aibioGalapagos (now Lakefront Biotherapeutics) lowers wind-down cost estimate, holds €3.0 billion
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The company lowered its expected cell therapy restructuring cash costs to €125 to €175 million. It expects to be a lean organization of about 35-40 employees by the end of 2026.
Key facts
- Company
- Lakefront Biotherapeutics (EURONEXT: LKFT)
- News type
- Distress
- Primary source
- Lakefront Biotherapeutics 6-K (2026-02-23)
Galapagos NV (Euronext and Nasdaq: GLPG) reported full-year 2025 results on February 23, 2026, together with a fourth-quarter update. The release covers the year in which its board decided to wind down the company's cell therapy activities, and it updates the cost of that exit.
Cash and the cost of the exit
Galapagos held €2,998.0 million in cash and financial investments at December 31, 2025, down from €3,317.8 million a year earlier. The company says $2,159.0 million of that was held in U.S. dollars, so currency moves can affect its financial results. Net cash and investments fell by €319.8 million in 2025, and operating cash burn was €189.1 million.
For the first quarter of 2026, the company expects operating cash outflow of up to €50 million. It guides to one-time restructuring cash costs of €125 to €175 million in 2026, which it says is €25 million less than its earlier estimate of €150 million to €200 million. It also expects €35 million to €40 million of cash costs to finish a restructuring announced in January 2025, and up to €40 million for the TYK2 program in 2026. Year-end 2026 cash and financial investments are projected at €2.775 billion to €2.850 billion.
A profit that comes from accounting
Galapagos reported a net profit of €320.9 million for 2025, against €74.1 million in 2024. The profit is largely an accounting entry. Total net revenues were €1,112.2 million, including €1,069.0 million recognized from deferred income tied to exclusive access rights Gilead holds under the OLCA for the company's drug discovery platform. The company says it recognized the balance because, given the wind-down, the deferred income is no longer justified. The revenue is the recognition of deferred income already on the balance sheet, and the company notes the OLCA remains in effect.
Operating profit of €295.1 million came mainly from that release. Operating expenses included €275.0 million tied to the cell therapy decision. That total contains a €228.1 million impairment, €33.3 million of severance, €16.3 million for early termination of collaborations and €10.1 million of deal costs, partly offset by a €21.8 million positive fair value adjustment. R&D expenses rose to €459.4 million in 2025 from €335.5 million in 2024.
The TYK2 program and the cell therapy exit
The lead immunology asset, GLPG3667, is a TYK2 inhibitor in two phase 2 studies. In dermatomyositis, the GALARISSO study met its primary endpoint at the 150 mg once-daily dose, with 21 patients on drug and 19 on placebo at week 24. The result had a p-value of 0.0848, and the company set its significance threshold at 10% (alpha of 0.1) before the study. The company also reports improvements on several secondary endpoints.
In lupus, the GALACELA study did not reach statistical significance on its primary endpoint, the SRI-4 response at week 32. The company reports numerical improvements over placebo on several secondary endpoints, particularly skin-related outcomes. Final week 48 data are expected in the second quarter of 2026, and the company says those data will decide next steps for the lupus program.
On cell therapy, Galapagos notified investigators that it is ending two CAR-T studies early: ATALANTA-1, for the CD19 candidate GLPG5101, and PAPILIO-1, for the BCMA candidate GLPG5301. Patients from both will roll into the long-term HESPERIA follow-up study, and the company expects residual spending to be minimal.
The company's royalty income from Gilead on Jyseleca was €12.2 million in 2025, up from €10.6 million in 2024. Jyseleca's business was transferred to Alfasigma in 2024.
What comes next
The company plans to publish its annual report and 20-F around March 26, 2026, hold its annual shareholders' meeting on April 28, and report first-quarter results on May 6, 2026. It says the wind-down is on schedule for substantial completion by the end of the third quarter of 2026, and that the remaining organization will have about 35 to 40 employees by the end of 2026. Galapagos says it will focus on business development. It expects to be cash flow neutral to positive by the end of 2026, a guide that excludes any business development activity and currency effects. The release names no transaction.