Galapagos NV announced that during its meeting of 19 September 2023, the board of directors appointed Mr. Simon Sturge as non-executive independent director by way of cooptation. Mr. Sturge replaces Dr. Mary Kerr who stepped down on 18 September 2023. Mr. Sturge brings over 40 years of international biotech and pharma experience with leadership positions at Merck KGaA and Boehringer Ingelheim.

He held CEO roles at several biotech companies, including Kymab (now Sanofi) and Celltech Biologics (now Lonza), and founded Ribotargets (now Vernalis). Mr. Sturge is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, Precerix and Mediar Therapeutics. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Weizmann UK, part of Weizmann Institute, a renowned multidisciplinary scientific research institute, and Future Health.

He previously was a member of the Boards of Nemesis BioScience, Feedback plc, Silence Therapeutics, and Cristal Therapeutics.