This week on The Pharma Letter Podcast, we are joined by Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG) chief executive Paul Stoffels.

After an illustrious career as chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Dr Stoffels is ready for a new chapter in his home country of Belgium.

His instalment as Galapagos CEO is also a kind of homecoming.

Founded in 1999, the firm emerged from a joint venture between Crucell and Tibotec, an infectious disease specialist for which Dr Stoffels served as chair, before the company was acquired by J&J in 2002.

While the company has a strong balance sheet and a promising pipeline, Galapagos has had its share of ups and downs in recent years, including late-stage failures and a rebuff from the US regulator for a JAK inhibitor partnered with Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD).

With his feet barely under the desk, Dr Stoffels has been busy moving on from disappointments connected with the Gilead partnership, with a series of M&A moves.

The acquisition of CellPoint and AboundBio will boost access to next-generation cell therapies and help the firm in its stated aim of bringing three differentiated CAR-T candidates into clinical development within three years.

In this week’s episode of the podcast, we’ll ask Dr Stoffels about what motivated him to leave J&J, and what he has planned for Galapagos in the coming year.