On the back of the successful building of its service division, BioFocus DPI, Galapagos has licensed its rheumatoid arthritis programme to Janssen Pharmaceutica (of Johnson and Johnson) in highly lucrative deal that could earn the company in excess of US$1 B. Following an exclusive interview with Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos, the article discusses the significance of the deal and the strategy of the company going forward.