The number of new drugs containing new active substances approved in the EU rose significantly in 2020, underpinned by a strong showing for orphan-designated products and a string of novel medicines for cancer and infectious diseases. Notable among the new clutch of approvals was the first ever COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty.

Onno van de Stolpe has told Scrip it will take time to win investor confidence back after more disappointing news about the JAK inhibitor but Galapagos has "the pipeline and the cash in the organization to do so."

The acquisitions of Alexion and Celgene are the latest in a long line of transactions in which big pharma buys big biotech. But these latest two are of biotechs that have disappointed their investors, and there are still some of those left for 2021.

A disappointing meeting with the FDA means "we no longer see a viable path to US approval in this indication,” said Gilead CEO Daniel O'Day, as Galapagos assumes sole responsibility for the commercialization of the JAK inhibitor in Europe.