Galapagos NV is winding down its cell therapy division after an unsuccessful attempt to sell the unit, becoming the latest biotech to retreat from a sector that has lost momentum after a period of intense investment.
The Belgian biotech said it will close its cell therapy division after failing to secure satisfactory offers, redirecting focus to pursuing “new transformational business”. The restructuring will lead to around 365 job losses across its sites in the Netherlands, Switzerland, the US and China.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
If implemented, Galapagos expects to incur €100–€125m ($115m-145m) in operation costs and €150–€200m in reconstruction costs by the end 2026.
The company says it remains open to offers for a partial or full acquisition of the cell therapy unit during the wind-down period.
This news underscores a larger trend of retrenched investment across the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry, as companies confront steep manufacturing cost, scalability hurdles and uncertain commercial returns. The sector has seen sharp pullback in recent months with investment pivoting towards lower-risk, later-stage programmes.
On 10 October, Novo Nordisk abandoned its R&D cell therapy division, laying off about 250 employees and halting programmes targeting Parkinson’s disease, chronic heart failure, and Type 1 diabetes.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataJapanese pharma Takeda also abandoned its cell therapy research, in a surprise U-turn towards small molecules, biologics and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
Meanwhile, Gilead Sciences’ Kite Pharma terminated its collaboration with Shoreline, ending a research partnership for off-the-shelf cell therapies that was valued at over $2.3bn.
Despite a surge of innovation in the CGT space, many companies have struggled to match scientific progress with scalable, efficient manufacturing. Analysts note that the high cost and complexity of CGT – combined with regulatory uncertainty and commercial hesitancy – have dampened industry investment, prompting a shift toward more established models of clinical development.
Not all doom and gloom
Despite the roadblocks, CGT remains one of the fastest-growing areas of pharmaceutical research. According to a June 2025 report published by GlobalData, the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, the global CGT market is estimated to be worth around $79bn by 2030.
There is a need for greater collaboration between regulators and industry to help smooth the path to market, as well as utilisation of contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMO) to ensure access to the highest-quality materials throughout development.
UK multinational AstraZeneca signed a deal worth up to $555m for Algen Biotechnologies’ artificial intelligence (AI)-driven gene-editing platform and Abbvie bought Capstan for $2.1bn back in July to bolster its CAR-T pipeline, signalling confidence in the CGT market.
Correction: The headline and paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 were updated to reflect that Galapagos is shutting down its cell therapy unit. A previous version stated the company was closing its cell and gene therapy business.
Cell & Gene Therapy coverage on Pharmaceutical Technology is supported by Cytiva.
Editorial content is independently produced and follows the highest standards of journalistic integrity. Topic sponsors are not involved in the creation of editorial content.
