As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 29, 2019

Registration No. 333-                

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM F-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

GALAPAGOS NV

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Belgium	Not Applicable
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

Generaal De Wittelaan L11 A3

2800 Mechelen, Belgium

Tel. No.: +32 15 342 900

(Address and telephone number of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

C T Corporation System

28 Liberty Street

New York, New York 10005

Tel. No. +1 (212) 590-9070

(Name, address, and telephone number of agent for service)

Please send copies of all communications to:

Mitchell S. Bloom, Esq.

Michael H. Bison, Esq.

Markus Bauman, Esq.

Goodwin Procter LLP

100 Northern Avenue

Boston, MA 02210

Tel. No.: +1 (617) 570-1000

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: from time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are to be offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  ☐

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box   ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☒

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.

Emerging growth company  ☐

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

† The term “new or revised fnancial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codifcation after April 5, 2012.

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of each class of securities to be registered	Amount to be Registered(1)(2)	Proposed Maximum Aggregate Price Per Unit(1)(2)	Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1)(2)	Amount of Registration Fee(3)
Ordinary Shares, no par value per share(4)(5)	—	—	—	—
Preference Shares(6)	—	—	—	—
Warrants(7)	—	—	—	—
Units(8)	—	—	—	—
Debt Securities	—	—	—	—
Total(9)	—	—	—	—

(1) An indeterminate number of or aggregate principal amount of the securities of each identified class is being registered as may at various times be issued at indeterminate prices.

(2) Not applicable pursuant to General Instruction II.F of Form F-3 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.

(3) In accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Securities Act, the Registrant is deferring payment of all of the registration fee. Any registration fees will be paid subsequently on a pay-as-you-go basis in accordance with Rule 457(r).

(4) In addition to any securities that may be registered hereunder, we are also registering an indeterminate number of ordinary shares as may be issued upon conversion or exercise of the securities issued directly hereunder. No separate consideration will be received for any ordinary shares so issued upon conversion or exercise.

(5) The ordinary shares registered hereby may be represented by the Registrant’s American Depositary Shares, or ordinary ADSs, each of which represents a specified number of ordinary shares. Ordinary ADSs issuable upon deposit of the ordinary shares registered hereby have been or will be registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6.

(6) The preference shares registered hereby may be represented by the Registrant’s American Depositary Shares, or Preference ADSs, each of which represent a specified number of preference shares. Preference ADSs issuable upon deposit of the preference shares registered hereby will be registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6.

(7) Warrants may be exercised to purchase any of the other securities registered hereby. Includes Warrants that may be purchased by underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any.

(8) These offered securities may be sold separately or together as units.

(9) The securities registered hereunder may be sold separately or in a combination with other securities registered hereby.

PROSPECTUS

Ordinary Shares

Ordinary Shares in the Form of American Depositary Shares

Preference Shares

Preference Shares in the Form of American Depositary Shares

Warrants

Units

Debt Securities

By this prospectus, we and/or our selling security holders may offer and sell from time to time, in one or more offerings, together or separately, ordinary shares; ordinary shares in the form of American Depositary Shares, or ADSs; preference shares; preference shares in the form of ADSs; warrants; units; debt securities or any combination thereof as described in this prospectus. Any ADS will represent a specified number of ordinary shares or preference shares. The warrants may be convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for ordinary shares or preference shares or debt securities, the preference shares may be convertible into or exchangeable for ordinary shares and the debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for ordinary shares or preference shares or other debt securities. You should carefully read this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus, as well as any documents incorporated in any of the foregoing by reference, before you invest in our securities. This prospectus may not be used to sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement. We or the selling security holders may offer and sell these securities in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions and other factors at the time of the offering. This prospectus describes only the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which we or the selling security holders will offer the securities. The specific terms of any securities we or the selling security holders offer will be included in a supplement to this prospectus. A prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus may also add to, update, supplement or clarify information contained in this prospectus.

Our ordinary shares in the form of ADSs are traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “GLPG.” Our ordinary shares are traded on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels under the symbol “GLPG.”

We and/or our selling security holders may offer and sell our securities to or through one or more agents, underwriters, dealers or other third parties or directly to one or more purchasers on a continuous or delayed basis. If agents, underwriters or dealers are used to sell our securities, we and/or our selling security holders will name them and describe their compensation in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of our securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from the sale of such securities will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of securities by selling security holders.

INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES INVOLVES A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK. YOU SHOULD REVIEW CAREFULLY THE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES REFERENCED UNDER THE HEADING “RISK FACTORS” ON PAGE 5 OF THIS PROSPECTUS AS WELL AS THOSE CONTAINED IN THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT AND ANY RELATED FREE WRITING PROSPECTUS, AND IN THE OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT ARE INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO THIS PROSPECTUS OR THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT.

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Prospectus dated March 29, 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS		2
ABOUT THE COMPANY		4
RISK FACTORS		5
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS		6
CAPITALIZATION		8
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION		9
DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL		12
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES		20
SELLING SECURITY HOLDERS		31
USE OF PROCEEDS		32
TAXATION		33
ENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL LIABILITIES		34
LEGAL MATTERS		35
EXPERTS		36
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION		37
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE		38

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We are responsible for the information contained and incorporated by reference in this prospectus, in any accompanying prospectus supplement, and in any related free writing prospectus we prepare or authorize. We have not authorized anyone to give you any other information, and we take no responsibility for any other information that others may give you. If you are in a jurisdiction where offers to sell, or solicitations of offers to purchase, the securities offered by this documentation are unlawful, or if you are a person to whom it is unlawful to direct these types of activities, then the offer presented in this document does not extend to you. The information contained in this document speaks only as of the date of this document, unless the information specifically indicates that another date applies. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospectus may have changed since those dates.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of an automatic shelf registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, as a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.

Under this shelf registration, we and/or our selling security holders may offer our ordinary shares or preference shares, ordinary shares or preference shares in the form of ADSs, various series of warrants to purchase ordinary shares or preference shares or debt securities, units, debt securities or any combination thereof, from time to time in one or more offerings. This prospectus only provides you with a general description of the securities that we and/or our selling security holders may offer. Each time we and/or our selling security holders offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain more specific information about the specific terms of the offering. If any such securities are to be listed or quoted on a securities exchange or quotation system, the applicable prospectus supplement will say so. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. This prospectus may not be used to sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement. Each such prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We urge you to carefully read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, together with the information incorporated herein by reference as described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation by Reference” before you invest in our securities.

Neither we nor any selling security holders have authorized anyone to provide you with information in addition to or different from that contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurances as to the reliability of, any information not contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus that we and/or our selling security holders may authorize to be provided to you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. You should assume that the information in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus, or any sale of a security.

This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Unless otherwise mentioned or unless the context requires otherwise, throughout this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, the words “Galapagos,” “GLPG,” “we,” “us,” “our,” “the company,” “our company” or similar references refer to Galapagos NV and its consolidated subsidiaries; and the term “securities” refers collectively to our ordinary shares, ordinary shares in the form of ADSs, preference shares, preference shares in the form of ADSs, warrants to purchase ordinary shares or preference shares or debt securities, units, debt securities, or any combination of the foregoing securities.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all references to “U.S. dollars,” “USD,” “dollars,” “US$” and “$” in this prospectus are to the lawful currency of the United States of America and references to “Euro,” “EUR,” and “€” are to the lawful currency of Belgium. Our audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. Our consolidated financial statements are presented in euros. We have a fiscal year end of December 31.

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ABOUT THE COMPANY

We are an integrated biopharmaceutical company active in the discovery, development, and preparation for future commercialization of medicines with novel modes of action, addressing disease areas of high unmet medical need. Our pipeline comprises programs ranging from discovery to Phase 3 clinical trials in inflammation, fibrosis, osteoarthritis (OA), and other indications. Our highly flexible platform is applicable across many therapeutic areas. Our clinical stage programs include: filgotinib, which is currently in Phase 3 trials in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC) and in Phase 2 trials in multiple additional indications; GLPG1690, our fully proprietary autotaxin (ATX) inhibitor, which is currently in the ISABELA 1 & 2 pivotal trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and the NOVESA Phase 2 Proof-of-Concept trial in systemic sclerosis (SSc); GLPG1205, our fully proprietary GPR84 inhibitor which is currently in the PINTA Phase 2 Proof-of-Concept trial in IPF; GLPG1972, which is in the ROCCELLA global Phase 2 trial in OA patients; MOR106, which is being evaluated in Phase 1 and 2 trials in atopic dermatitis (AtD) patients; and the Toledo molecule GLPG3312, aimed at a novel class of targets discovered by us and currently in Phase 1 clinical development. Almost exclusively these programs are based on inhibiting targets which were identified using our proprietary target discovery platform.

Corporate profile

Our legal and commercial name is Galapagos NV. We are a limited liability company incorporated in the form of a naamloze vennootschap / société anonyme under Belgian law. We were incorporated in Belgium on June 30, 1999 for an unlimited duration. We are registered with the Register of Legal Entities (Antwerp, division Mechelen) under the enterprise number 0466.460.429. Our principal executive and registered offices are located at Generaal De Wittelaan L11 A3, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium, and our telephone number is +32 15 342 900. Our agent for service of process in the United States is C T Corporation System, located at 28 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10005, United States of America. We maintain an Internet website at www.glpg.com. The information on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute part of this prospectus or any supplement to this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.

Our ordinary shares in the form of ADSs have been listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “GLPG” since May 14, 2015. Our ordinary shares have been trading on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels under the symbol “GLPG” since May 6, 2005.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as other information we include or incorporate by reference into this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, before making an investment decision. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by the materialization of any of these risks. The trading price of our securities could decline due to the materialization of any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference also contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks described in the documents incorporated herein by reference, including (i) the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the SEC on March 29, 2019 (File No. 001-37384), which is incorporated herein by reference, and (ii) other documents we file with the SEC that are deemed incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus, including any supplement to this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. All statements other than present and historical facts and conditions contained in this prospectus, including any supplement to this prospectus and the documents that are incorporated herein and therein by reference, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial positions, business strategy, plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this prospectus, including any supplement to this prospectus and the documents that are incorporated herein and therein by reference, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “is designed to,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “objective,” “should,” or the negative of these and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

• the initiation, timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and our research and development programs;

• our ability to advance product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical trials;

• our reliance on the success of our product candidate filgotinib and certain other product candidates;

• the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals;

• our ability to develop sales and marketing capabilities;

• the commercialization of our product candidates, if approved;

• the pricing and reimbursement of our product candidates, if approved;

• the implementation of our business model, strategic plans for our business, product candidates and technology;

• the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and technology;

• our ability to operate our business without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights and proprietary technology of third parties;

• cost associated with enforcing or defending intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or violation; product liability; and other claims;

• regulatory development in the United States, Europe, and other jurisdictions;

• estimates of our expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

• the potential benefits of strategic collaboration agreements and our ability to enter into strategic arrangements;

• our ability to maintain and establish collaborations or obtain additional grant funding;

• the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates if approved by regulatory authorities;

• our financial performance;

• developments relating to our competitors and our industry, including competing therapies;

• our ability to effectively manage and anticipate growth;

• our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel;

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• statements regarding future revenue, hiring plans, expenses, capital expenditures, capital requirements and share performance; and

• other risks and uncertainties, including those listed under the section titled “Risk Factors.”

You should refer to the section titled “Risk Factors” for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus, any supplements to this prospectus and the documents that we incorporate herein and therein by reference will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame or at all. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Further, we cannot assess the impact of each such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

You should read this prospectus, including any supplements to this prospectus and the documents that we incorporate herein and therein by reference and have filed as exhibits to this prospectus, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. In light of the significant risks and uncertainties to which our forward-looking statements are subject, you should not place undue reliance on or regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified timeframe, or at all. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

This prospectus, including any supplements to this prospectus and the documents that we incorporate herein and therein by reference, may contain market data and industry forecasts that were obtained from third parties and industry publications. These data involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. We have not independently verified any third-party information. While we believe the market position, market opportunity and market size information included in this prospectus is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise.

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CAPITALIZATION

We intend to include information about our capitalization and indebtedness in prospectus supplements.

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We and/or our selling security holders may sell our securities from time to time in one or more transactions. We and/or our selling security holders may sell our securities to or through agents, underwriters, dealers, remarketing firms or other third parties or directly to one or more purchasers or through a combination of any of these methods. In some cases, we or dealers acting with us or on our behalf or with our selling security holders or on their behalf may also purchase our securities and reoffer them to the public. We and/or our selling security holders may also offer and sell, or agree to deliver, securities pursuant to, or in connection with, any option agreement or other contractual arrangement.

Agents whom we and/or our selling security holders designate may solicit offers to purchase our securities.

• We and/or our selling security holders will name any agent involved in offering or selling our securities, and disclose any commissions that we and/or our selling security holders will pay to the agent, in the applicable prospectus supplement.

• Unless we and/or our selling security holders indicate otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, agents will act on a best efforts basis for the period of their appointment.

• Agents may be deemed to be underwriters under the Securities Act of any of our securities that they offer or sell.

We and/or our selling security holders may use an underwriter or underwriters in the offer or sale of our securities.

• If we and/or our selling security holders use an underwriter or underwriters, we and/or our selling security holders will execute an underwriting agreement with the underwriter or underwriters at the time that we and/or our selling security holders reach an agreement for the sale of our securities.

• We and/or our selling security holders will include the names of the specific managing underwriter or underwriters, as well as the names of any other underwriters, and the terms of the transactions, including the compensation the underwriters and dealers will receive, in the applicable prospectus supplement.

• The underwriters will use the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the prospectus, to sell our securities.

We and/or our selling security holders may use a dealer to sell our securities.

• If we and/or our selling security holders use a dealer, we and/or our selling security holders will sell our securities to the dealer, as principal.

• The dealer will then sell our securities to the public at varying prices that the dealer will determine at the time it sells our securities.

• We and/or our selling security holders will include the name of the dealer and the terms of the transactions with the dealer in the applicable prospectus supplement.

One or more firms, referred to as “remarketing firms,” may also offer or sell the securities, if a prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with a remarketing arrangement upon their purchase. Remarketing firms will act as principals for their own accounts or as our agents. These remarketing firms will offer or sell the securities in accordance with the terms of the securities. Each prospectus supplement will identify and describe any remarketing firm and the terms of its agreement, if any, with us and will describe the remarketing firm’s compensation. Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters in connection with the securities they remarket. Remarketing firms may be entitled under agreements that may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.

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We and/or our selling security holders may solicit directly offers to purchase our securities, and we and/or our selling security holders may directly sell our securities to institutional or other investors. We will describe the terms of direct sales in the applicable prospectus supplement.

We and/or our selling security holders may engage in at the market offerings into an existing trading market in accordance with Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act.

We and/or our selling security holders may enter into derivative or hedging transactions with third parties or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. In connection with such a transaction, the third parties may sell securities covered by and pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. If so, the third party may use securities borrowed from us or others to settle such sales and may use securities received from us to close out any related short positions. We and/or our selling security holders may also loan or pledge securities covered by this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement to third parties, who may sell the loaned securities or, in an event of default in the case of a pledge, sell the pledged securities pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement.

Agents, underwriters and dealers participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We and/or our selling security holders may indemnify agents, underwriters and dealers against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Agents, underwriters and dealers, or their affiliates, may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us or our respective affiliates, in the ordinary course of business.

We and/or our selling security holders may authorize agents and underwriters to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase our securities at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts.

• If we and/or our selling security holders use delayed delivery contracts, we and/or our selling security holders will disclose that we and/or our selling security holders are using them in the prospectus supplement and will tell you when we and/or our selling security holders will demand payment and when delivery of our securities will be made under the delayed delivery contracts.

• These delayed delivery contracts will be subject only to the conditions that we describe in the prospectus supplement.

• We and/or our selling security holders will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the commission that underwriters and agents soliciting purchases of our securities under delayed delivery contracts will be entitled to receive.

Unless otherwise specified in connection with a particular underwritten offering of our securities, the underwriters will not be obligated to purchase offered securities unless specified conditions are satisfied, and if the underwriters do purchase any offered securities, they will purchase all offered securities.

Certain underwriters may use this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement for offers and sales related to market-making transactions in the securities. These underwriters may act as principal or agent in these transactions, and the sales will be made at prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of sale. Any underwriters involved in the sale of the securities may qualify as “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act. In addition, the underwriters’ commissions, discounts or concessions may qualify as underwriters’ compensation under the Securities Act and the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.

In order to facilitate the offering of the securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-

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allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than we and/or our selling security holders sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing the applicable security in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if the securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.

The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in other transactions with us, or perform other services for us, in the ordinary course of their business.

We and/or our selling security holders may effect sales of securities in connection with forward sale, option or other types of agreements with third parties. Any distribution of securities pursuant to any forward sale agreement may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions that may take place through a stock exchange, including block trades or ordinary broker’s transactions, or through broker-dealers acting either as principal or agent, or through privately-negotiated transactions, or through an underwritten public offering, or through a combination of any such methods of sale, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, prices relating to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated or fixed prices.

The specific terms of the lock-up provisions, if any, with respect to any given offering will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

The expenses of any offering of our securities will be detailed in the applicable prospectus supplement.

We and/or our selling security holders will identify the specific plan of distribution, including any agents, underwriters, dealers, remarketing firms or other third parties and their compensation in a prospectus supplement.

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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

The following description is a summary of certain information relating to our share capital, certain provisions of our articles of association and the Belgian Companies Code as at the date of this prospectus. Recently a new Belgian companies code was approved by the Belgian Parliament entering into force on May 1, 2019. For existing companies like us there is a transition regime providing for a staggered applicability of the new provisions. Certain parts of the new code will apply to us as of January 1, 2020. The full transition must be completed by the earlier of (i) the next extraordinary shareholders’ meeting that amends our articles of association or (ii) January 1, 2024. On the date of this prospectus we have not yet initiated or implemented any changes as a result of such new companies code. Because this description is a summary, it may not contain all of the information important to you. Accordingly, this description is qualified entirely by reference to the description of our share capital and the material terms of our articles of association contained in the documents incorporated herein by reference, including our most recent Annual Report on 20-F, as updated by other reports and documents we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and that are incorporated by reference herein, together with our articles of association, a copy of which has been filed as an exhibit hereto. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

The following description includes comparisons of certain provisions of our articles of association and the Belgian Companies Code applicable to us and the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, the law under which many publicly listed companies in the United States are incorporated. Because such statements are summaries, they do not address all aspects of Belgian law that may be relevant to us and our shareholders or all aspects of Delaware law which may differ from Belgian law, and they are not intended to be a complete discussion of the respective rights.

Share capital

Share capital and shares

Our share capital consists of ordinary shares without par value and is fully paid-up. Our shares are not separated into classes. As of December 31, 2018, our issued and paid-up share capital amounted to €294,599,712.11 represented by 54,465,421 ordinary shares without par value, each representing an identical fraction of our share capital. As of December 31, 2018, we had six shareholders who held shares in registered form, representing 12.4% of our ordinary shares. The remainder of our ordinary shares are in dematerialized form. As of December 31, 2018, neither we nor any of our subsidiaries held any of our own shares.

As of March 18, 2019, we estimated that approximately 37% of our outstanding ordinary shares and ADS were held in the United States by an estimated 110 institutional holders of record, excluding Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Other outstanding securities

In addition to the shares already outstanding, we have granted warrants, which upon exercise will lead to an increase in the number of our outstanding shares. A total of 4,626,782 warrants (where each warrant entitles the holder to subscribe for one new ordinary share) were outstanding and granted as of December 31, 2018, which represent approximately 8.5% of the total number of all our issued and outstanding voting financial instruments and warrants as of December 31, 2018. See “—Securities Exercisable for Ordinary Shares” below.

History of securities issuances

As of January 1, 2016, our share capital amounted to €211,388,857.22, represented by 39,076,342 shares. All shares were issued, fully paid up and of the same class. Since January 1, 2016, the following events have changed the number of our issued and outstanding shares:

• On January 19, 2016, we completed the closing of the global collaboration agreement with Gilead Biopharmaceutics Ireland Unlimited Company, or GBIUC, which is a direct subsidiary of Gilead

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Sciences, Inc., in the framework of which GBIUC made a €392,120,658.00 equity investment by subscribing to new shares at a price of €58 per share. This resulted in a share capital increase of €36,575,392.41 (plus €355,545,265.59 in issuance premium) and in the issuance to GBIUC of 6,760,701 new ordinary shares.

• On April 1, 2016, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plan 2002 Belgium, Warrant Plan 2007 RMV, Warrant Plan 2008, Warrant Plan 2009, Warrant Plan 2010, Warrant Plan 2011 (B) and Warrant Plan 2012. The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €668,407.45 (plus €740,900 in issuance premium) and the issuance of 131,695 new ordinary shares.

• On May 19, 2016, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plan 2006 Belgium/The Netherlands, Warrant Plan 2008, Warrant Plan 2009, Warrant Plan 2010, Warrant Plan 2011, Warrant Plan 2011 (B) and Warrant Plan 2012. The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €761,565.70 (plus €714,836.00 in issuance premium) and the issuance of 140,770 new ordinary shares.

• On June 1, 2016, our board issued an aggregate number of 634,250 warrants (after acceptance by the beneficiaries) within the framework of the authorized capital, for the benefit of our directors, an independent consultant and our employees under new warrant plans, Warrant Plan 2016 and Warrant Plan 2016 RMV.

• On September 19, 2016, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plan 2002 Belgium, Warrant Plan 2005, Warrant Plan 2007 RMV, Warrant Plan 2009, Warrant Plan 2011 and Warrant Plan 2012. The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €326,331.20 (plus €276,958.60 in issuance premium) and the issuance of 60,320 new ordinary shares.

• On November 28, 2016, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plan 2005, Warrant Plan 2008, Warrant Plan 2009, Warrant Plan 2010 and Warrant Plan 2012. The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €466,612.50 (plus €304,725.00 in issuance premium) and the issuance of 86,250 new ordinary shares.

• On January 20, 2017, our board issued 150,000 warrants (after acceptance by the beneficiary) within the framework of the authorized capital, for the benefit of for the benefit of Dr. Walid Abi-Saab in the context of his appointment as Chief Medical Officer under a new warrant plan, Warrant Plan 2016 (B).

• On April 6, 2017, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plans 2002 Belgium, 2005, 2007 RMV, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2013 (B). The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €4,033,858.30 (including issuance premium) and the issuance of 247,070 new ordinary shares.

• On April 21, 2017, we completed the offering in the U.S. of 4,312,500 ordinary shares in the form of American Depositary Shares at a price of $90.00 per share, before underwriting discounts.

• On May 17, 2017, our board issued an aggregate number of 723,000 warrants (after acceptance by the beneficiaries) within the framework of the authorized capital, for the benefit of our directors, an independent consultant and our employees under new warrant plans, Warrant Plan 2017 and Warrant Plan 2017 RMV.

• On June 20, 2017, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plans 2002, 2005, 2006 Belgium/The Netherlands, 2007 RMV, 2012 and 2013. The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €631,898.90 (including issuance premium) and the issuance of 52,030 new ordinary shares.

• On September 21, 2017, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plans 2002, 2005, 2012 and 2013. The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €268,478.00 (including issuance premium) and the issuance of 28,100 new ordinary shares.

• On November 23, 2017, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plans 2002, 2005, 2007 RMV, 2012 and 2013. The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €353,835.00 (including issuance premium) and the issuance of 41,000 new ordinary shares.

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• On March 20, 2018, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plans 2005, 2007 RMV, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014 (B). The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €3,924,205.36 (including issuance premium) and the issuance of 298,184 new ordinary shares.

• On April 19, 2018, our board issued an aggregate number of 1,237,745 warrants (after acceptance by the beneficiaries) within the framework of the authorized capital, for the benefit of our directors, an independent consultant and our employees under new warrant plans, Warrant Plan 2018 and Warrant Plan 2018 RMV.

• On June 20, 2018, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plans 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014 (B). The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €1,337,017.89 (including issuance premium) and the issuance of 102,801 new ordinary shares.

• On September 17, 2018, we completed the offering in the U.S. of 2,961,373 ordinary shares in the form of American Depositary Shares at a price of $116.50 per share, before underwriting discounts.

• On October 3, 2018, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plans 2005, 2006 BNL, 2007, 2007 RMV, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014 (B). The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €2,013,590.25 (including issuance premium) and the issuance of 135,485 new ordinary shares.

• On November 23, 2018, warrants were exercised at various exercise prices under Warrant Plans 2007 RMV, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2014 (B). The exercise resulted in a share capital increase of €381,865.00 (including issuance premium) and the issuance of 30,800 new ordinary shares.

All of the share issuances listed above were for cash consideration.

The following table shows the reconciliation of the number of ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2016, 2017, and 2018:

Issued capital	Share capital (€)		Number of shares
As of December 31, 2016		250,187,166.48		46,256,078
Changes during 2017		25,322,587.00		4,680,700
As of December 31, 2017		275,509,753.48		50,936,778
Changes during 2018		19,089,958.63		3,528,643
As of December 31, 2018		294,599,712.11		54,465,421

Articles of association and other share information

Corporate profile

Our legal and commercial name is Galapagos NV. We are a limited liability company incorporated in the form of a naamloze vennootschap / société anonyme under Belgian law. We are registered with the Register of Legal Entities (Antwerp, division Mechelen) under the enterprise number 0466.460.429. Our principal executive and registered offices are located at Generaal De Wittelaan L11 A3, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium and our telephone number is +32 15 342 900. Our agent for service of process in the United States is C T Corporation System, located at 28 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10005, United States of America.

We were incorporated in Belgium on June 30, 1999 for an unlimited duration. Our fiscal year ends December 31.

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Corporate purpose

Our corporate purpose as set forth in Article 3 of our articles of association is as follows:

“The company’s purpose consists of:

(a) the development, the construction and exploitation of gene libraries for functional genomics research;

(b) the research for the development of health products for human beings and animals, pharmaceutical products and other products relating thereto;

(c) the development, testing, scaling up, and exploitation of gene therapy procedures, as well as the development, evaluation and exploitation of clinical applications of such procedures;

(d) for its own account or for the account of third parties, the performance of research in the field of or in connection with biological and industrial technology, genetics and human and animal life in general; and

(e) the acquisition, sale and licensing of patents, trademarks, industrial and intellectual property, whether or not secret, and licenses.

For such purposes the company may, in Belgium and abroad, acquire or lease any license, movable or immovable property necessary or useful for its commercial or industrial purpose, operate, sell or lease same, build factories, establish subsidiaries and branches, and establish premises. It may engage in all operations with banks, post cheque, invest capital, contract or grant loans and credit facilities, whether or not mortgaged. The company may, by means of contribution, participation, loans, credit facility, subscription of shares, acquisition of shares and other commitments, participate in other companies, associations or enterprises, both existing as to be incorporated, and whether or not having a purpose similar to the purpose of the company. The company may merge with other companies or associations. The company may incorporate subsidiaries both under Belgian and under foreign law. The company may acquire or establish any property that is necessary or useful for its operations or its corporate purpose.”

Board of directors

Belgian law does not specifically regulate the ability of directors to borrow money from our company.

Article 523 of the Belgian Companies Code provides that if one of our directors directly or indirectly has a personal financial interest that conflicts with a decision or transaction that falls within the powers of our board of directors, the director concerned must inform our other directors before our board of directors makes any decision on such transaction. The auditor must also be notified. The director may neither participate in the deliberation nor vote on the conflicting decision or transaction. An extract of the minutes of the meeting of our board of directors that sets forth the financial impact of the matter on the company and justifies the decision of our board of directors must be published in our annual report. The auditor’s report on the annual accounts must contain a description of the financial impact on us of each of the decisions of our board of directors where directors’ conflicts of interests arise.

The DGCL generally permits transactions involving a Delaware corporation and an interested director of that corporation if (i) the material facts as to the director’s relationship or interest and as to the transaction are disclosed and a majority of disinterested directors consent, (ii) the material facts are disclosed as to the director’s relationship or interest and a majority of shares entitled to vote thereon consent or (iii) the transaction is fair to the corporation at the time it is authorized by the board of directors, a committee of the board of directors or the stockholders.

We rely on a provision in the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market that allows us to follow Belgian corporate law with respect to certain aspects of corporate governance. This allows us to continue following

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certain corporate governance practices that differ in significant respects from the corporate governance requirements applicable to U.S. companies listed on Nasdaq. For example, the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market require that for any shareholders’ meeting, the quorum must be no less than 33 ¹/₃% of the outstanding ordinary shares. There is no quorum requirement under Belgian law for our shareholders’ meetings, except as provided for by law in relation to decisions regarding certain matters. See “—Description of Securities—Ordinary Shares—Right to Attend and Vote at Our Shareholders’ Meetings—Quorum and Majority Requirements.”

Form and transferability of our shares

All of our shares belong to the same class of securities and are in registered form or in dematerialized form. All of our outstanding shares are fully paid-up and freely transferable, subject to any contractual restrictions.

Currency

Our share capital, which is represented by our outstanding ordinary shares, is denominated in euros.

Changes to our share capital

Changes to our share capital are decided by our shareholders, which may at any time resolve to increase or decrease our share capital. Any such resolution must satisfy the quorum and majority requirements that apply to an amendment of the articles of association, as described in “Description of Securities—Ordinary Shares—Right to Attend and Vote at Our Shareholders’ Meeting—Quorum and Majority Requirements.” No shareholder is liable to make any further contribution to our share capital other than with respect to shares held by such shareholder that would not be fully paid-up.

Share capital increases by our board of directors

Subject to the quorum and majority requirements described in “Description of Securities—Ordinary Shares—Right to Attend and Vote at Our Shareholders’ Meeting—Quorum and Majority Requirements,” our shareholders’ meeting may authorize our board of directors, within certain limits, to increase our share capital without any further approval being required from our shareholders’ meeting. Such pre-authorized capital increase is referred to as authorized capital. This authorization can only be granted for a renewable period of a maximum of five years and may not exceed the amount of the registered share capital at the time of the authorization.

On April 25, 2017, without prejudice to more restrictive rules set forth by law, our shareholders authorized our board of directors to increase our registered capital at one or more times in an amount up to €50,037,433.29, i.e., 20% of the share capital existing at the moment of the convening to the shareholders’ meeting granting this authority.

In addition, on the same date and without prejudice to more restrictive rules set forth by law, our shareholders authorized our board of directors to increase the share capital of the Company in one or more times in an amount up to €82,561,764.93, i.e., 33% of the share capital existing at the moment of the convening to the shareholders’ meeting granting this authority, upon resolution of the board of directors that all independent directors (within the meaning of article 526ter of the Belgian Companies Code) approved and relating to (i) the entire or partial financing of a transaction through the issue of new shares of the Company, whereby “transaction” is defined as an acquisition (in shares and/or cash), a corporate partnership, or an in-licensing deal, (ii) the issue of warrants in connection with Company’s remuneration policy for its and its subsidiaries’ employees, directors and independent advisors, (iii) the financing of the Company’s research and development programs or (iv) the strengthening of the Company’s cash position.

As of December 31, 2018, €22,703,703.38 of the authorized capital was used, so that an amount of €59,858,061.55 still remained available under the authorized capital. As of the date hereof, our board of directors

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may decide to issue up to 11,064,336 ordinary shares pursuant to this authorization, without taking into account however subsequent issuances under our warrant programs or otherwise.

Preferential subscription rights

In the event of a share capital increase for cash through the issuance of new shares, or in the event we issue convertible bonds or warrants, our existing shareholders have a preferential right to subscribe, pro rata, to the new shares, convertible bonds or warrants. These preferential subscription rights are transferable during the subscription period. Our board of directors may decide that preferential subscription rights that were not exercised by any shareholders shall accrue proportionally to the other shareholders that have already exercised their preferential subscription rights and may fix the practical terms for such subscription.

Our shareholders’ meeting may resolve to limit or cancel this preferential subscription right, subject to special reporting requirements. Such resolution must satisfy the same quorum and majority requirements as the decision to increase our share capital.

Shareholders may also decide to authorize our board of directors to limit or cancel the preferential subscription right within the framework of the authorized capital, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Belgian Companies Code. Our board of directors currently has the authority, for a period of five years starting from the date of publication in the Annexes to the Belgian State Gazette of the authorization granted by the shareholders’ meeting on April 25, 2017, to increase the share capital within the framework of the authorized capital, and the right to limit or cancel the preferential subscription right within the framework of the authorized capital. See also “—Share Capital Increases by Our Board of Directors” above.

Under the DGCL, stockholders of a Delaware corporation have no preemptive rights to subscribe for additional issues of stock or to any security convertible into such stock unless, and to the extent that, such rights are expressly provided for in the corporation’s certificate of incorporation.

Purchases and sales of our own shares

We may only repurchase our own shares pursuant to an authorization of our shareholders’ meeting taken under the conditions of quorum and majority provided for in the Belgian Companies Code. Pursuant to the Belgian Companies Code, such a decision requires a quorum of shareholders holding an aggregate of at least 50% of the share capital and approval by a majority of at least 80% of the share capital present or represented. If there is no quorum, a second meeting must be convened. No quorum is required at the second meeting, but the relevant resolution must be approved by a majority of at least 80% of the share capital present or represented.

Within such authorization, we may only repurchase our own shares if the amount that we would use for repurchase is available for distribution. Currently we have no such an authorization and we neither have any funds available for distribution, nor own any of our own shares.

Under the DGCL, a Delaware corporation may purchase or redeem its own shares, unless the capital of the corporation is impaired or the purchase or redemption would cause an impairment of the capital of the corporation.

Belgian legislation

Disclosure of significant shareholdings

The Belgian Law of May 2, 2007 on the disclosure of significant shareholdings in issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market requires each person or legal entity acquiring or transferring our shares (directly or indirectly, by ownership of ADSs or otherwise, and including equivalent financial instruments) to notify us and the Belgian FSMA each time they cross (upwards or downwards) a threshold of 5% of the total number of outstanding voting rights or a multiple thereof.

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Similarly, if as a result of events changing the breakdown of voting rights, the percentage of the voting rights reaches, exceeds or falls below any of the above thresholds, disclosure is required even when no acquisition or disposal of shares or ADSs has occurred (e.g., as a result of a capital increase or a capital decrease). Finally, disclosure is also required when persons acting in concert enter into, modify or terminate their agreement resulting in their voting rights reaching, exceeding or falling below any of the above thresholds.

The disclosure statements must be addressed to the Belgian FSMA and to us at the latest on the fourth trading day following the day on which the circumstance giving rise to the disclosure occurred. Unless otherwise provided by law, a shareholder shall only be allowed to vote at our shareholders’ meeting the number of shares such shareholder validly disclosed at the latest twenty days before such meeting.

In accordance with U.S. federal securities laws, holders of our ordinary shares and holders of ADSs will be required to comply with disclosure requirements relating to their ownership of our securities. Any person that, after acquiring beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares or the ADSs, is the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares or ordinary shares underlying ADSs must file with the SEC a Schedule 13D or Schedule 13G, as applicable, disclosing the information required by such schedules, including the number of our ordinary shares or ordinary shares underlying ADSs that such person has acquired (whether alone or jointly with one or more other persons). In addition, if any material change occurs in the facts set forth in the report filed on Schedule 13D (including a more than 1% increase or decrease in the percentage of the total shares beneficially owned), the beneficial owner must promptly file an amendment disclosing such change.

Disclosure of net short positions

Pursuant to the Regulation (EU) No. 236/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps, any person that acquires or disposes of a net short position relating to our issued share capital, whether by a transaction in shares or ADSs, or by a transaction creating or relating to any financial instrument where the effect or one of the effects of the transaction is to confer a financial advantage on the person entering into that transaction in the event of a decrease in the price of such shares or ADSs is required to notify the Dutch AFM (Stichting Autoriteit Financiële Markten) if, as a result of such acquisition or disposal his net short position reaches, exceeds or falls below 0.2% of our issued share capital and each 0.1% above that. If the net short position reaches 0.5%, and also at every 0.1% above that, the Dutch AFM will disclose the net short position to the public.

Public takeover bids

The European Takeover Directive 2004/25/EC of 21 April 2004 has been implemented in Belgium through the Law of April 1, 2007 on public takeovers, or the Takeover Law, the Royal Decree of April 27, 2007 on public takeovers and the Royal Decree of April 27, 2007 on squeeze-out bids.

Public takeover bids in Belgium for our shares or other securities giving access to voting rights are subject to supervision by the Belgian FSMA. The Takeover Law determines when a bid is deemed to be public in Belgium. Public takeover bids must be extended to all of our voting securities, as well as all other securities giving access to voting rights. Prior to making a bid, a bidder must publish a prospectus that has been approved by the Belgian FSMA prior to publication.

The Takeover Law provides that a mandatory bid must be launched on all our shares (and our other securities giving access to voting rights), if a person, as a result of its own acquisition or the acquisition by persons acting in concert with it or by persons acting for its account, directly or indirectly holds more than 30% of our voting securities (directly or through ADSs).

Squeeze-out

Pursuant to Article 513 of the Belgian Companies Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder, a person or legal entity, or different persons or legal entities acting alone or in concert, that own together with the

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company 95% of the securities with voting rights in a public company are entitled to acquire the totality of the securities with voting rights in that company following a squeeze-out offer. The securities that are not voluntarily tendered in response to such an offer are deemed to be automatically transferred to the bidder at the end of the procedure. At the end of the procedure, the company is no longer deemed a public company, unless bonds issued by the company are still spread among the public. The consideration for the securities must be in cash and must represent the fair value (verified by an independent expert) in order to safeguard the interests of the transferring shareholders.

The DGCL provides for stockholder appraisal rights, or the right to demand payment in cash of the judicially determined fair value of the stockholder’s shares, in connection with certain mergers and consolidations.

Limitations on the right to own securities

Neither Belgian law nor our articles of association impose any general limitation on the right of non-residents or foreign persons to hold our securities or exercise voting rights on our securities other than those limitations that would generally apply to all shareholders.

Exchange controls and limitations affecting shareholders

There are no Belgian exchange control regulations that impose limitations on our ability to make, or the amount of, cash payments to residents of the United States.

We are in principle under an obligation to report to the National Bank of Belgium certain cross-border payments, transfers of funds, investments and other transactions in accordance with applicable balance-of-payments statistical reporting obligations. Where a cross-border transaction is carried out by a Belgian credit institution on our behalf, the credit institution will in certain circumstances be responsible for the reporting obligations.

Securities exercisable for ordinary shares

The section titled “Item 6.B.—Compensation—Warrant Plans” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018, incorporated by reference herein, sets forth a description of warrants granted by our board of directors to our directors, members of the executive committee, employees and other service providers as of December 31, 2018.

Apart from the warrants and warrant plans, we do not currently have other stock options, options to purchase securities, convertible securities or other rights to subscribe for or purchase securities outstanding.

Listing

The ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “GLPG.” Our ordinary shares are trading on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels under the symbol “GLPG.”

Transfer agent and registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for the ADSs is Citibank, N.A.

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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

We or our selling security holders may offer ordinary shares, preference shares, ordinary or preference shares in the form of ADSs, warrants, units, debt securities, in one or more series, as either senior or subordinated debt or as senior or subordinated convertible debt, or any combination thereof from time to time in one or more offerings under this prospectus at prices and on terms to be determined at the time of any offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement and/or free writing prospectus that will describe the specific amounts, prices and other important terms of the securities.

ADSs

A description of our ordinary share ADSs, each of which represents one of our ordinary shares, can be found in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F as updated by other reports and documents we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and that are incorporated by reference herein.

Ordinary shares

The following description is a summary of certain information relating to the rights and benefits attached to our ordinary shares, certain provisions of our articles of association and the Belgian Companies Code. Because this description is a summary, it may not contain all of the information important to you. Accordingly, this description is qualified entirely by reference to the description of our share capital and the material terms of our articles of association contained in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F as updated by other reports and documents we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and that are incorporated by reference herein, together with our articles of association, a copy of which has been filed as an exhibit hereto. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Right to attend and vote at our shareholders’ meetings

Annual shareholders’ meeting

Pursuant to our articles of association, our annual shareholders’ meeting is held each year on the last Tuesday of the month of April, at 2 p.m. (Central European Time), at our registered office or at any other place in Belgium mentioned in the convening notice of the meeting. If this date is a public holiday in Belgium or in The Netherlands, the meeting is held on the following day that is a business day both in Belgium and in The Netherlands, at the same time.

Special and extraordinary shareholders’ meetings

Our board of directors or the auditor (or the liquidators, if appropriate) may, whenever our interests so require, convene a special or extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. Such shareholders’ meeting must also be convened when one or more shareholders holding at least one-fifth of our share capital so requests.

Under the DGCL, special meetings of the stockholders of a Delaware corporation may be called by such person or persons as may be authorized by the certificate of incorporation or by the bylaws of the corporation, or if not so designated, as determined by the board of directors. Stockholders generally do not have the right to call meetings of stockholders, unless that right is granted in the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws.

Notices convening shareholders’ meetings

Convening notices of our shareholders’ meetings contain the agenda of the meeting, indicating the items to be discussed as well as any proposed resolutions that will be submitted at the meeting. One or more shareholders

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holding at least 3% of our share capital may request for items to be added to the agenda of any convened meeting and submit proposed resolutions in relation to existing agenda items or new items to be added to the agenda, provided that:

• they prove ownership of such shareholding as at the date of their request and record their shares representing such shareholding on the record date; and

• the additional items for the agenda and any proposed resolutions have been submitted in writing by these shareholders to the board of directors at the latest on the twenty-second day preceding the day on which the relevant shareholders’ meeting is held.

The shareholding must be proven by a certificate evidencing the registration of the relevant shares in the share register of the company or by a certificate issued by the authorized account holder or the clearing organization certifying the book-entry of the relevant number of dematerialized shares in the name of the relevant shareholder(s).

The convening notice must be published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad / Moniteur belge) at least thirty days prior to the shareholders’ meeting. In the event a second convening notice is necessary and the date of the second meeting is mentioned in the first convening notice, that period is seventeen days prior to the second shareholders’ meeting. The notice must also be published in a national newspaper thirty days prior to the date of the shareholders’ meeting, except if the meeting concerned is an annual shareholders’ meeting held at the municipality, place, day and hour mentioned in the articles of association and its agenda is limited to the examination of the annual accounts, the annual report of the board of directors, the annual report of the auditor, the vote on the discharge of the directors and the auditor and the vote on the items referred to in Article 554, paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Belgian Companies Code (i.e., in relation to a remuneration report or severance pay). Convening notices of all our shareholders’ meetings and all related documents, such as specific board and auditor’s reports, are also published on our website.

Convening notices must also be sent thirty days prior to the shareholders’ meeting to the holders of registered shares, holders of registered bonds, holders of registered warrants, holders of registered certificates issued with our cooperation and to our directors and auditor. This communication is made by ordinary letter unless the addressees have individually and expressly accepted in writing to receive the notice by another form of communication, without having to give evidence of the fulfillment of such formality.

Under the DGCL, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, written notice of any meeting of the stockholders of a Delaware corporation must be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at the meeting not less than ten nor more than sixty days before the date of the meeting and shall specify the place, date, hour and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose of the meeting.

Admission to meetings

A shareholder is only entitled to participate in and vote at a shareholders’ meeting, irrespective of the number of shares he owns on the date of the shareholders’ meeting, provided that his shares are recorded in his name at midnight (Central European Time) at the end of the fourteenth day preceding the date of the shareholders’ meeting, or the record date:

• in case of registered shares, in our register of registered shares; or

• in case of dematerialized shares, through book-entry in the accounts of an authorized account holder or clearing organization.

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In addition, we (or the person designated by us) must, at the latest on the sixth day preceding the day of the shareholders’ meeting, be notified as follows of the intention of the shareholder to participate in the shareholders’ meeting:

• in case of registered shares, the shareholder must, at the latest on the above-mentioned date, notify us (or the person designated by us) in writing of his intention to participate in the shareholders’ meeting and of the number of shares he intends to participate in the shareholders’ meeting with by returning a signed paper form, or, if permitted by the convening notice, by sending an electronic form (signed by means of an electronic signature in accordance with the applicable Belgian law) electronically, to us on the address indicated in the convening notice; or

• in case of dematerialized shares, the shareholder must, at the latest on the above-mentioned date, provide us (or the person designated by us), or arrange for us (or the person designated by us) to be provided with, a certificate issued by the authorized account holder or clearing organization certifying the number of dematerialized shares recorded in the shareholder’s accounts on the record date in respect of which the shareholder has indicated his intention to participate in the shareholders’ meeting.

Each shareholder has the right to attend a shareholders’ meeting and to vote at such meeting in person or through a proxy holder. The proxy holder does not need to be a shareholder. A shareholder may only appoint one person as proxy holder for a particular shareholders’ meeting, except in cases provided for by law. Our board of directors may determine the form of the proxies. The appointment of a proxy holder must in any event take place in paper form or electronically, the proxy must be signed by the shareholder (as the case may be, by means of an electronic signature in accordance with the applicable Belgian law) and we must receive the proxy at the latest on the sixth day preceding the day on which the shareholders’ meeting is held.

Pursuant to Article 7, section 5 of the Belgian Law of May 2, 2007 on the disclosure of significant shareholdings, a transparency declaration has to be made if a proxy holder that is entitled to voting rights above the threshold of 5% or any multiple thereof of the total number of voting rights attached to our outstanding financial instruments on the date of the relevant shareholders’ meeting would have the right to exercise the voting rights at his discretion.

Votes

Each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share.

Voting rights can be suspended in relation to shares:

• that were not fully paid up, notwithstanding the request thereto of our board of directors;

• to which more than one person is entitled, except in the event a single representative is appointed for the exercise of the voting right;

• that entitle their holder to voting rights above the threshold of 5% or any multiple thereof of the total number of voting rights attached to our outstanding financial instruments on the date of the relevant general shareholders’ meeting, except to the extent where the relevant shareholder has notified us and the Belgian FSMA at least twenty days prior to the date of such shareholders’ meeting of its shareholding reaching or exceeding the thresholds above; or

• of which the voting right was suspended by a competent court or the Belgian FSMA.

Quorum and majority requirements

Generally, there is no quorum requirement for our shareholders’ meeting, except as provided for by law in relation to decisions regarding certain matters. Decisions are made by a simple majority, except where the law provides for a special majority.

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Under the DGCL, the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of a Delaware corporation may specify the number of shares required to constitute a quorum but in no event shall a quorum consist of less than one-third of shares entitled to vote at a meeting. In the absence of such specifications, a majority of shares entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum.

Matters involving special legal quorum and majority requirements include, among others, amendments to the articles of association, issues of new shares, convertible bonds or warrants and decisions regarding mergers and demergers, which require at least 50% of the share capital to be present or represented and the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the votes cast. If the quorum is not reached, a second meeting may be convened at which no quorum requirement applies. The special majority requirement for voting, however, remains applicable.

Any modification of our corporate purpose or legal form requires a quorum of shareholders holding an aggregate of at least 50% of the share capital and approval by a majority of at least 80% of the share capital present or represented. If there is no quorum, a second meeting must be convened. At the second meeting, no quorum is required, but the relevant resolution must be approved by a majority of at least 80% of the share capital present or represented.

Right to ask questions at our shareholders’ meetings

Within the limits of Article 540 of the Belgian Companies Code, members of our board of directors and our auditor will answer, during the shareholders’ meeting, the questions raised by shareholders. Shareholders can ask questions either during the meeting or in writing, provided that we receive the written questions at the latest on the sixth day preceding the shareholders’ meeting.

Dividends

All shares participate in the same manner in our profits, if any. Pursuant to the Belgian Companies Code, the shareholders can in principle decide on the distribution of profits with a simple majority vote at the occasion of the annual shareholders’ meeting, based on the most recent non-consolidated statutory audited annual accounts, prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in Belgium and based on a (non-binding) proposal of our board of directors. The articles of association also authorize our board of directors to declare interim dividends subject to the terms and conditions of the Belgian Companies Code.

Dividends can only be distributed if following the declaration and issuance of the dividends the amount of our net assets on the date of the closing of the last financial year according to the non-consolidated statutory annual accounts (i.e., the amount of the assets as shown in the balance sheet, decreased with provisions and liabilities, all as prepared in accordance with Belgian accounting rules), decreased with the non-amortized costs of incorporation and expansion and the non-amortized costs for research and development, does not fall below the amount of the paid-up capital (or, if higher, the called capital), increased with the amount of non-distributable reserves. In addition, prior to distributing dividends, at least 5% of our annual net profit under our non-consolidated statutory accounts (prepared in accordance with Belgian accounting rules) must be allotted to a legal reserve, until the legal reserve amounts to 10% of the share capital.

The right to payment of dividends expires five years after the board of directors declared the dividend payable.

Under the DGCL, a Delaware corporation may pay dividends out of its surplus (the excess of net assets over capital), or in case there is no surplus, out of its net profits for either or both of the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and the preceding fiscal year (provided that the amount of the capital of the corporation is not less than the aggregate amount of the capital represented by the issued and outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets). Dividends may be paid in the form of shares, property or cash.

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Appointment of directors

Our articles of association provide that our board of directors shall be composed of at least five and a maximum of nine members. The directors are appointed by the shareholders, except in the case of vacancy, when the board of directors may temporarily fill such vacancy until the shareholders appoint a new director.

Liquidation rights

Our company can only be voluntarily dissolved by a shareholders’ resolution passed with a majority of at least 75% of the votes cast at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting where at least 50% of the share capital is present or represented. In the event the required quorum is not present or represented at the first meeting, a second meeting needs to be convened through a new convening notice. The second shareholders’ meeting can validly deliberate and decide regardless of the number of shares present or represented.

Under the DGCL, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution of a Delaware corporation must be approved by stockholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. The DGCL allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.

In the event of the dissolution and liquidation of our company, the assets remaining after payment of all debts and liquidation expenses (on a non-consolidated basis) will be distributed to our shareholders, each receiving a sum on a pro rata basis.

If, as a result of losses incurred, the ratio of our net assets (on a non-consolidated basis, determined in accordance with Belgian legal and accounting rules) to share capital is less than 50%, our board of directors must convene a general shareholders’ meeting within two months of the date upon which our board of directors discovered or should have discovered this undercapitalization. At this shareholders’ meeting, our board of directors needs to propose either our dissolution or our continuation, in which case our board of directors must propose measures to redress our financial situation. Our board of directors must justify its proposals in a special report to the shareholders. Shareholders representing at least 75% of the votes validly cast at this meeting have the right to dissolve the company, provided that at least 50% of our share capital is present or represented at the meeting. In the event the required quorum is not present or represented at the first meeting, a second meeting needs to be convened through a new notice. The second shareholders’ meeting can validly deliberate and decide regardless of the number of shares present or represented.

If, as a result of losses incurred, the ratio of our net assets to share capital is less than 25%, the same procedure must be followed, it being understood, however, that in that case, shareholders representing 25% of the votes validly cast at the meeting can decide to dissolve the company. If the amount of our net assets has dropped below €61,500 (the minimum amount of share capital of a Belgian limited liability company), any interested party is entitled to request the competent court to dissolve the company. The court can order our dissolution or grant a grace period during which time we must remedy the situation. Holders of ordinary shares have no sinking fund, redemption or appraisal rights.

Preference shares

We may issue preference shares from time to time, in one or more series. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement a description of the terms and rights of the preference shares that may be offered under this prospectus, including the designation of the series, the number of shares of the series, the preferences and relative, participating, option or other special rights, if any, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such series, and the voting rights, if any, of the holders of the series. Belgian company law and/or our articles of association may require shareholder approval for the establishment of a series of preference shares. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you related to the series of preference shares being offered.

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Warrants

We may issue warrants for the purchase of our ordinary shares and/or preference shares and/or ordinary shares or preference shares in the form of ADSs and/or debt securities in one or more series. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from these securities. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you related to the particular series of warrants being offered, as well as the complete warrant agreements and/or warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants. Forms of the warrant agreements and/or forms of warrant certificates containing the terms of the warrants being offered will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or will be incorporated by reference from reports that we file with the SEC.

We may evidence series of warrants by warrant certificates that we will issue. Warrants may be issued under an applicable warrant agreement that we enter into with a warrant agent. We will indicate the name and address of the warrant agent, if applicable, in the prospectus supplement relating to the particular series of warrants being offered.

Units

We may issue, in one or more series, units consisting of ordinary shares, preference shares, ordinary shares or preference shares in the form of ADSs, debt securities and/or warrants for the purchase of ordinary shares and/or preference shares and/or debt securities in any combination. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you related to the series of units being offered, as well as the complete unit agreement that contains the terms of the units. We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of unit agreement and any supplemental agreements that describe the terms of the series of units we are offering before the issuance of the related series of units.

We will evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we will issue. Units may be issued under a unit agreement that we enter into with a unit agent. We will indicate the name and address of the unit agent, if applicable, in the prospectus supplement relating to the particular series of units being offered.

Debt securities

We may offer and issue debt securities from time to time in one or more series, under one or more indentures, each dated as of a date on or prior to the issuance of the debt securities to which it relates, and pursuant to an applicable prospectus supplement. We may issue senior debt securities and subordinated debt securities pursuant to separate indentures, a senior indenture and a subordinated indenture, respectively, in each case between us and the trustee named in the indenture. We have filed forms of these documents as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus forms a part. The senior indenture and the subordinated indenture, as amended or supplemented from time to time, are sometimes referred to individually as an “indenture” and collectively as the “indentures.” Each indenture will be subject to and governed by the Trust Indenture Act and will be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of New York (without giving effect to any principles thereof relating to conflicts of law that would result in the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction), unless otherwise stated in the applicable prospectus supplement and indenture (or post-effective amendment hereto). However, since we are a company incorporated and existing under Belgian law, certain aspects of the debt securities may be governed by compulsory provisions of Belgian law, which, if applicable, will be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement and indenture (or post-effective amendment hereto). Each indenture will contain the specific terms of any series of debt securities or provide that those terms must be set forth in or determined pursuant to, an authorizing resolution, as defined in the applicable prospectus supplement, and/or a supplemental indenture, if any, relating to such series. Our debt securities may be convertible or exchangeable into any of our equity or other debt securities.

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The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the debt securities. The particular terms and provisions of the debt securities offered by any prospectus supplement, and the extent to which the general terms and provisions described below may apply to the offered debt securities, will be described in the applicable subsequent filings. We refer to any applicable prospectus supplement, amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, and reports we file with the SEC under the Exchange Act as “subsequent filings.” The statements below are not complete and are subject to, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, all of the provisions of the applicable indenture. The specific terms of any debt securities that we may offer, including any modifications of, or additions to, the general terms described below as well as any applicable material U.S. federal income tax considerations and Belgian tax considerations concerning the ownership of such debt securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement and indenture and, as applicable, supplemental indenture. Accordingly, for a complete description of the terms of a particular issue of debt securities, the general description of the debt securities set forth below should be read in conjunction with the applicable prospectus supplement and indenture, as amended or supplemented from time to time.

General

We expect that neither indenture will limit the amount of debt securities which may be issued. The debt securities may be issued in one or more series.

You should read the applicable indenture and subsequent filings relating to the particular series of debt securities for the following terms of the offered debt securities:

• the designation, aggregate principal amount and authorized denominations;

• the issue price, expressed as a percentage of the aggregate principal amount;

• the maturity date;

• the interest rate per annum, if any;

• the debt securities provide for interest payments, the date from which interest will accrue, the dates on which interest will be payable, the date on which payment of interest will commence and the regular record dates for interest payment dates;

• any optional or mandatory sinking fund provisions or exchangeability provisions;

• the terms and conditions upon which conversion of any convertible debt securities may be effected, including the conversion price, the conversion period and other conversion provisions;

• whether the debt securities will be our senior or subordinated securities;

• whether the obligations under the debt securities will be our secured or unsecured obligations;

• the applicability and terms of any guarantees;

• the date, if any, after which and the price or prices at which the debt securities may be optionally redeemed or must be mandatorily redeemed and any other terms and provisions of optional or mandatory redemptions;

• if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof, the denominations in which the debt securities of the series will be issuable;

• if other than the full principal amount, the portion of the principal amount of the debt securities of the series which will be payable upon acceleration or provable in bankruptcy;

• any events of default not set forth in this prospectus;

• the currency or currencies, including composite currencies, in which principal, premium and interest will be payable, if other than the currency of the United States of America;

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• if principal, premium or interest is payable, at our election or at the election of any holder, in a currency other than that in which the debt securities of the series are stated to be payable, the period or periods within which, and the terms and conditions upon which, the election may be made;

• whether interest will be payable in cash or additional securities at our or the holder’s option and the terms and conditions upon which the election may be made;

• if denominated in a currency or currencies other than the currency of the United States of America, the equivalent price in the currency of the United States of America for purposes of determining the voting rights of holders of those debt securities under the applicable indenture;

• if the amount of payments of principal, premium or interest may be determined with reference to an index, formula or other method based on a coin or currency other than that in which the debt securities of the series are stated to be payable, the manner in which the amounts will be determined;

• any restrictive covenants or other material terms relating to the debt securities;

• whether the debt securities will be issued in the form of global securities or certificates in registered, dematerialized, or bearer form;

• any listing on any securities exchange or quotation system;

• additional provisions, if any, related to defeasance and discharge of the debt securities; and

• any other special features of the debt securities.

Subsequent filings may include additional terms not listed above. Unless otherwise indicated in subsequent filings with the SEC relating to the indenture, principal, premium and interest will be payable and the debt securities will be transferable at the corporate trust office of the applicable trustee. Unless other arrangements are made or set forth in subsequent filings or a supplemental indenture, principal, premium and interest will be paid by checks mailed to the registered holders at their registered addresses.

Unless otherwise indicated in subsequent filings with the SEC, the debt securities will be issued only in fully registered form without coupons, in denominations of $1,000 or any integral multiple thereof. No service charge will be made for any transfer or exchange of the debt securities, but we may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with the debt securities.

Some or all of the debt securities may be issued as discounted debt securities, bearing no interest or interest at a rate which at the time of issuance is below market rates, to be sold at a substantial discount below the stated principal amount. U.S. federal income tax consequences and other special considerations applicable to any discounted securities will be described in subsequent filings with the SEC relating to those securities.

Senior debt

We may issue senior debt securities, which may be secured or unsecured, under the senior debt indenture. The senior debt securities will rank on an equal basis with all our other senior debt except subordinated debt. The senior debt securities will be effectively subordinated, however, to all of our secured debt to the extent of the value of the collateral securing such debt. We will disclose the amount of our debt in the prospectus supplement.

Subordinated debt

We may issue subordinated debt securities under a subordinated debt indenture. Subordinated debt would rank subordinate and junior in right of payment, to the extent set forth in the subordinated debt indenture, to all our senior debt.

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Covenants

Any series of debt securities may have covenants in addition to or differing from those included in the applicable indenture which will be described in subsequent filings prepared in connection with the offering of such securities, limiting or restricting, among other things:

• our ability to incur either secured or unsecured debt, or both;

• our ability to make certain payments, dividends, redemptions or repurchases;

• our ability to create dividend and other payment restrictions affecting our subsidiaries;

• our ability to make investments;

• mergers and consolidations by us or our subsidiaries;

• sales of assets by us;

• our ability to enter into transactions with affiliates;

• our ability to incur liens; and

• sale and leaseback transactions.

Modification of the indentures

Unless the debt securities qualify as bonds (obligaties / obligations) under Belgian company law, we expect that each indenture and the rights of the respective holders generally may be modified by us only with the consent of holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series under the respective indenture affected by the modification, taken together as a class. But we expect that no modification that:

(1) changes the amount of securities whose holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;

(2) reduces the rate of or changes the interest payment time on any security or alters its redemption provisions (other than any alteration to any such section which would not materially adversely affect the legal rights of any holder under the indenture) or the price at which we are required to offer to purchase the securities;

(3) reduces the principal or changes the maturity of any security or reduces the amount of, or postpones the date fixed for, the payment of any sinking fund or analogous obligation;

(4) waives a default or event of default in the payment of the principal of or interest, if any, on any security (except a rescission of acceleration of the securities of any series by the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding securities of that series and a waiver of the payment default that resulted from such acceleration);

(5) makes the principal of or interest, if any, on any security payable in any currency other than that stated in the security;

(6) makes any change with respect to holders’ rights to receive principal and interest, the terms pursuant to which defaults can be waived, certain modifications affecting shareholders or certain currency-related issues; or

(7) waives a redemption payment with respect to any security or changes any of the provisions with respect to the redemption of any securities;

will be effective against any holder without his consent. Other terms of our debt securities that do not qualify as bonds (obligaties / obligations) under Belgian company law, as specified in subsequent filings, may be modified without the consent of the holders.

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In the event the debt securities, however, do qualify as bonds (obligaties / obligations) under Belgian company law, the rights of the respective holders may only be modified if the provisions relating to general meetings of bondholders (algemene vergadering van obligatiehouders / assemblée générale des obligataires) as set forth in the Belgian Companies Code are complied with.

Events of default

We expect that each indenture will define an event of default for the debt securities of any series as being any one of the following events:

• default in any payment of interest when due which continues for 30 days;

• default in any payment of principal or premium at maturity;

• default in the deposit of any sinking fund payment when due;

• default in the performance of any covenant in the debt securities or the applicable indenture which continues for 60 days after we receive notice of the default;

• default under a bond, debenture, note or other evidence of indebtedness for borrowed money by us or our subsidiaries (to the extent we are directly responsible or liable therefor) having a principal amount in excess of a minimum amount set forth in the applicable subsequent filings, whether such indebtedness now exists or is hereafter created, which default shall have resulted in such indebtedness becoming or being declared due and payable prior to the date on which it would otherwise have become due and payable, without such acceleration having been rescinded or annulled or cured within 30 days after we receive notice of the default; and

• events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization.

An event of default of one series of debt securities will not necessarily constitute an event of default with respect to any other series of debt securities.

There may be such other or different events of default as described in an applicable subsequent filing with respect to any class or series of debt securities.

We expect that under each indenture, in case an event of default occurs and continues for the debt securities of any series, the applicable trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities then outstanding of that series may declare the principal and accrued but unpaid interest of the debt securities of that series to be due and payable. Further, any event of default for the debt securities of any series which has been cured is expected to be permitted to be waived by the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of that series then outstanding.

We expect that each indenture will require us to file annually after debt securities are issued under that indenture with the applicable trustee a written statement signed by two of our officers as to the absence of material defaults under the terms of that indenture. We also expect that each indenture will provide that the applicable trustee may withhold notice to the holders of any default if it considers it in the interest of the holders to do so, except notice of a default in payment of principal, premium or interest.

Subject to the duties of the trustee in case an event of default occurs and continues, we expect that each indenture will provide that the trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under that indenture at the request, order or direction of holders unless the holders have offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity. Subject to these provisions for indemnification and the rights of the trustee, each indenture is expected to provide that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of any series then outstanding have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee as long as the exercise of that right does not conflict with any law or the indenture.

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Defeasance and discharge

The terms of each indenture are expected to provide us with the option to be discharged from any and all obligations in respect of the debt securities issued thereunder upon the deposit with the trustee, in trust, of money or U.S. government obligations, or both, which through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms will provide money in an amount sufficient to pay any installment of principal, premium and interest on, and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of, the debt securities on the stated maturity of the payments in accordance with the terms of the debt securities and the indenture governing the debt securities. We expect that this right may only be exercised if, among other things, we have received from, or there has been published by, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service a ruling to the effect that such a discharge will not be deemed, or result in, a taxable event with respect to holders. This discharge would not apply to our obligations to register the transfer or exchange of debt securities, to replace stolen, lost or mutilated debt securities, to maintain paying agencies and hold moneys for payment in trust.

Defeasance of certain covenants

We expect that the terms of the debt securities provide us with the right not to comply with specified covenants and that specified events of default described in a subsequent filing will not apply provided we deposit with the trustee money or U.S. government obligations, or both, which through the payment of interest and principal will provide money in an amount sufficient to pay any installment of principal, premium, and interest on, and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of, the debt securities on the stated maturity of such payments in accordance with the terms of the debt securities and the indenture governing such debt securities. We expect that to exercise this right, we will also be required to deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that the deposit and related covenant defeasance should not cause the holders of such series to recognize income, gain or loss for federal income tax purposes.

We refer you to applicable subsequent filings with respect to any deletions or additions or modifications from the description contained in this prospectus.

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SELLING SECURITY HOLDERS

Information about selling security holders, where applicable, will be set forth in a prospectus supplement, in a post-effective amendment or in filings we make with the SEC under the Exchange Act which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Except as described in any prospectus supplement or in any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you, the net proceeds received by us from our sale of the securities described in this prospectus will be added to our general funds and will be used for our general corporate purposes. From time to time, we may engage in additional public or private financings of a character and amount which we may deem appropriate. Unless otherwise set forth in a prospectus supplement, we will not receive any proceeds from the sale of securities by any selling security holders.

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TAXATION

U.S. federal income tax considerations

Our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, as updated by other reports and documents we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and that are incorporated by reference herein, provides a discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations that may be relevant to prospective investors in our ordinary shares. The applicable prospectus supplement may also contain information about any material U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to the securities covered by such prospectus supplement.

Non-U.S. tax considerations

Our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, as updated by other reports and documents we file with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and that are incorporated by reference herein, provides a discussion of the material Belgian tax consequences that may be relevant to prospective investors in our ordinary shares. The applicable prospectus supplement may also contain information about any non-U.S. tax considerations relating to the securities covered by such prospectus supplement.

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ENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL LIABILITIES

We are a limited liability company organized under the laws of Belgium. Less than a majority of our directors are citizens and residents of the United States, and the majority of our assets are located outside of the United States. Accordingly, it may be difficult for investors:

• to obtain jurisdiction over us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors in U.S. courts in actions predicated on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws;

• to enforce judgments obtained in such actions against us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors;

• to bring an original action in a Belgian court to enforce liabilities based upon the U.S. federal securities laws against us or our non-U.S. resident officers or directors; and

• to enforce against us or our directors in non-U.S. courts, including Belgian courts, judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.

The United States currently does not have a treaty with Belgium providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments, other than arbitral awards, in civil and commercial matters. Consequently, a final judgment rendered by any federal or state court in the United States, whether or not predicated solely upon U.S. federal or state securities laws, would not automatically be enforceable in Belgium.

In order to obtain a judgment for the payment of money based on civil liability which is enforceable in Belgium, the judgment must be recognized and be declared enforceable by a Belgian court pursuant to the relevant provisions of the 2004 Belgian Code of Private International Law, or the PIL Code. Recognition or enforcement does not imply a review of the merits of the case and is irrespective of any reciprocity requirement. A U.S. judgment will, however, not be recognized or declared enforceable in Belgium if it infringes upon one or more of the grounds for refusal which are listed in article 25 of the PIL Code. In addition to recognition or enforcement, a judgment by a federal or state court in the United States against us may also serve as evidence in a similar action in a Belgian court if it meets the conditions required for the authenticity of judgments according to the law of the state where it was rendered. In addition, with regard to enforcements by legal proceedings in Belgium (including the recognition of foreign court decisions in Belgium), a registration tax at the rate of 3% of the amount of the judgment is payable by the debtor, if the sum of money which the debtor is ordered to pay by a Belgian court, or by a foreign court judgment that is either (i) automatically enforceable and registered in Belgium, or (ii) rendered enforceable by a Belgian court, exceeds €12,500. The registration tax is payable by the debtor. The creditor is jointly liable up to a maximum of one-half of the amount the creditor recovers from the debtor. A stamp duty is payable for each original copy of an enforcement judgment rendered by a Belgian court, with a maximum of €1,450.

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LEGAL MATTERS

Unless otherwise indicated in any accompanying prospectus supplement, certain legal matters with respect to United States and New York law with respect to the validity of certain of the offered securities will be passed upon for the issuer by Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston, Massachusetts. Unless otherwise indicated in any accompanying prospectus supplement, certain legal matters with respect to Belgian law with respect to the validity of certain of the offered securities will be passed upon for the issuer by Argo BV o.v.v.e. CVBA. Any underwriters will be advised about other issues relating to any offering by their own legal counsel.

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EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Galapagos and its consolidated subsidiaries incorporated in this prospectus by reference from our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting have been audited by Deloitte Bedrijfsrevisoren BV o.v.v.e. CVBA, an independent registered public accounting firm located at Gateway Building, Luchthaven Nationaal, 1J, 1930 Zaventem, Belgium, as stated in their reports (which reports (1) express an unqualified opinion on the financial statements and includes an explanatory paragraph referring to the adoption of IFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and (2) expresses an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting), which are incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the reports of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We have filed a registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, covering the securities offered hereby. As allowed by SEC rules, this prospectus does not include all of the information contained in the registration statement. You are referred to the registration statement and the included exhibits for further information. This prospectus is qualified in its entirety by such other information.

We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to foreign private issuers and file annual and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additionally, we make these filings available, free of charge, on our website at www.glpg.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such materials with, or furnish them to, the SEC.

Information provided by us

We will furnish holders of our ordinary shares with annual reports containing audited consolidated financial statements and a report by our independent registered public accounting firm. The audited consolidated financial statements will be prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. As a “foreign private issuer,” we are exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements to shareholders. While we intend to furnish proxy statements to shareholders, those proxy statements are not expected to conform to Schedule 14A of the proxy rules promulgated under the Exchange Act. In addition, as a “foreign private issuer,” we are exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act relating to short swing profit reporting and liability.

SEC position on indemnification for Securities Act liabilities

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.

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INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information we file with it, which means that:

• incorporated documents are considered part of this prospectus;

• we can disclose important information to you by referring to those documents; and

• information that we file with the SEC in the future and incorporate by reference herein will automatically update and supersede information in this prospectus and information previously incorporated by reference herein.

The information that we incorporate by reference is an important part of this prospectus.

Each document incorporated by reference is current only as of the date of such document, and the incorporation by reference of such documents shall not create any implication that there has been no change in our affairs since the date thereof or that the information contained therein is current as of any time subsequent to its date. Any statement contained in such incorporated documents shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for the purpose of this prospectus to the extent that a subsequent statement contained in another document we incorporate by reference at a later date modifies or supersedes that statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.

We incorporate herein by reference:

• our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018 (File No. 001-37384);

• our reports on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on January 7, 2019; January 7, 2019; January 7, 2019; January 9, 2019; February 7, 2019; March 21, 2019; March 29, 2019; March 29, 2019; and March 29, 2019 (other than portions of each of the foregoing expressly excluded from incorporation by reference) (File No. 001-37384);

• the description of ordinary shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on May 8, 2015 (File No. 001-37384), including any subsequent amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description; and

• any document filed in the future with the SEC under Sections 13(a) and 13(c) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and until this offering is completed. Any report on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC on or after the date of this prospectus (or portions thereof) is incorporated by reference in this prospectus only to the extent that the report expressly states that we incorporate it (or such portions) by reference in this prospectus and that it is not subsequently superseded.

You may also request a copy of documents incorporated by reference at no cost, by contacting us orally or in writing at the following address and telephone number: Investor Relations, Generaal De Wittelaan L11 A3, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium, Tel. No.: +32 15 342 900.

Our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018 and any other information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus. The information in this prospectus and any supplement to this prospectus, to the extent applicable, automatically updates and supersedes the information in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018.

We have not authorized any person to provide you with information different from that contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement(s) or any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf or to which we may have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information others may give you. We are not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents.

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Under Belgian law, the directors of a company may be liable for damages to the company in case of improper performance of their duties. Our directors may be liable to our company and to third parties for infringement of our articles of association or Belgian company law. Under certain circumstances, directors may be criminally liable.

We maintain liability insurance for our directors and officers, including insurance against liability under the Securities Act.

Certain of our non-executive directors may, through their relationships with their employers or partnerships, be insured and/or indemnified against certain liabilities in their capacity as members of our board of directors.

In the underwriting agreements we entered into in connection with our May 2015 global offering and subsequent follow-on U.S. public offerings, the underwriters agreed to indemnify, under certain conditions, us, the members of our board of directors and persons who control our company within the meaning of the Securities Act against certain liabilities, but only to the extent that such liabilities are caused by information relating to the underwriters furnished to us in writing expressly for use in the applicable registration statements and certain other disclosure documents.

Item 9. Exhibits

A list of exhibits filed with, or incorporated by reference into, this registration statement is set forth on the Exhibit Index and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 10. Undertakings

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement.

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.

Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

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(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(4) To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 need not be furnished, provided that the registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (a)(4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement;

(5) (i) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

(A) Each prospectus filed by a registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which the prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date;

(6) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

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(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(e) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to deliver or cause to be delivered with the prospectus, to each person to whom the prospectus is sent or given, the latest annual report, to security holders that is incorporated by reference in the prospectus and furnished pursuant to and meeting the requirements of Rule 14a-3 or Rule 14c-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and, where interim financial information required to be presented by Article 3 of Regulation S-X is not set forth in the prospectus, to deliver, or cause to be delivered to each person to whom the prospectus is sent or given, the latest quarterly report that is specifically incorporated by reference in the prospectus to provide such interim financial information.

(h) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933, and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

(j) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the SEC under section 305(b)2 of the Trust Indenture Act.

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EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit number	Description
1.1*	Form of Underwriting Agreement.
4.1	Articles of Association, as amended (English translation), incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.1 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-37384) filed with the SEC on March 29, 2019.
4.2	Form of Deposit Agreement, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form F-1/A (File No. 333-203435) filed with the SEC on April 30, 2015.
4.3	Form of American Depositary Receipt, incorporated by reference to Exhibit A to the Registrant’s prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) under the Securities Act (File No. 333-203584) filed with the SEC on October 15, 2018.
4.4*	Form of Deed of Amendment with respect to any preference shares issued hereunder.
4.5*	Form of Warrant Agreement (including Warrant Certificate).
4.6*	Form of Unit Agreement.
4.7	Form of Senior Indenture.
4.8	Form of Subordinated Indenture.
5.1	Opinion of Goodwin Procter LLP.
5.2	Opinion of Argo BV o.v.v.e. CVBA.
23.1	Consent of Deloitte Bedrijfsrevisoren BV o.v.v.e. CVBA.
23.2	Consent of Goodwin Procter LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).
23.3	Consent of Argo BV o.v.v.e. CVBA (included in Exhibit 5.2).
24.1	Powers of Attorney (included on signature page).
25.1**	Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility of Trustee for Senior Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
25.2**	Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility of Trustee for Subordinated Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.

* To be filed, if necessary, as an exhibit to a post-effective amendment to this registration statement or as an exhibit to a report filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and incorporated herein by reference.

** To be filed pursuant to Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Mechelen, Belgium on March 29, 2019.

GALAPAGOS NV
By:	/s/ Onno van de Stolpe
	Onno van de Stolpe
	Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

We, the undersigned directors, officers and/or authorized representative in the United States of Galapagos NV, hereby severally constitute and appoint Onno van de Stolpe and Bart Filius, and each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power to any of them, and to each of them singly, to sign for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below the registration statement on Form F-3 filed herewith, and any and all pre-effective and post-effective amendments to said registration statement, and any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of equity securities of Galapagos NV, and to file or cause to be filed the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as each of them might or could do in person, and hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, or their substitute or substitutes, shall do or cause to be done by virtue of this Power of Attorney.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on March 29, 2019.

Signature	Title
/s/ Onno van de Stolpe Onno van de Stolpe	Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ Bart Filius Bart Filius, MBA	Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
/s/ Rajesh Parekh Rajesh Parekh, MA, DPhil	Chairman of the Board
/s/ Mary Kerr Mary Kerr, Ph.D.	Director
/s/ Werner Cautreels Werner Cautreels, Ph.D.	Director
/s/ Howard Rowe Howard Rowe, JD	Director
/s/ Katrine Bosley Katrine Bosley	Director

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Signature	Title
/s/ Christine Mummery Christine Mummery	Director
Puglisi & Associates
By: /s/ Donald J. Puglisi Name: Donald J. Puglisi Title: Managing Director	Authorized Representative in the United States

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