Feb. 8 Quick Takes: Galapagos slides on Phase III miss for filgotinib in Crohn’s

Galapagos N.V. (Euronext:GLPG; NASDAQ:GLPG) no longer plans to seek approval of filgotinib for moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease after top-line data from the Phase III DIVERSITY study showed the JAK-1 inhibitor missed the co-primary endpoints of clinical remission and endoscopic response at 10 weeks. Filgotinib did hit those endpoints in the study’s maintenance phase, at week 58. The drug, which is marketed in Europe and Japan as Jyseleca for rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, remains on track to enter Phase III testing this year for axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), according to the company. Galapagos was off 7% to $40.51 in early after-hours trading Wednesday. Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has rights to the drug outside of Europe, where it is eligible for royalties. The partners are no longer pursuing its approval in the U.S.

Days after disclosing immunogenicity and safety data that support continued evaluation of updated mRNA influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, CureVac N.V. (NASDAQ:CVAC) raised $250 million through the sale of 27 million shares at $9.25 in an upsized follow-on underwritten by Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, SVB Securities and Van Lanschot Kempen. The price represents a 13% discount to CureVac’s closing price of $10.58 on Monday; it proposed before market hours Tuesday to raise $200 million. CureVac dipped 11% on Tuesday before pricing the offering after market hours, and shed $0.23 to $9.15 Wednesday...