Galapagos NV announced that Michele Manto was appointed Chief Commercial Officer, effective 1 January 2020. He served as Senior Vice President Commercial Operations and in his new role will become a member of the Executive Committee. Since joining Galapagos in September 2017, he has built a strong commercial team from the ground up. His appointment comes at a pivotal time in Galapagos’ history, as the company prepares for the launch later this year of filgotinib, its JAK1 inhibitor currently in the registration process for rheumatoid arthritis. Filgotinib is Galapagos’ first medicine that is anticipated to reach the market. Previously, Michele held various commercial leadership roles at AbbVie, most recently as General Manager, Global Marketing Rheumatology and as General Manager in the Netherlands. Prior to this, he led AbbVie’s commercial activities and launches in inflammation in Germany and other European countries. He started his professional career as a management and strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company and holds an MBA from INSEAD.