Meet Piet Wigerinck

Piet has spent more than 30 years in pharmaceutical and biotech R&D, working in drug discovery, preclinical research, CMC, and clinical development. A pharmacist by training, he began his career at the Janssen Research Foundation before moving to Tibotec, where he led medicinal chemistry and early development work in anti-infectives. He later became Chief Scientific Officer at Galapagos, helping to build the company’s first-in-class pipeline and guiding its emergence as a leading European biotech.

Throughout his career, Piet has contributed to the R&D and approval of four small molecule medicines: Prezista, Olysio, Jyseleca, and Rekambys. Today, as Chief Scientific Advisor at Fibrocor Therapeutics, he is applying that experience to the development of new therapies for fibrotic diseases, while also advising and supporting a range of biotech companies working across drug discovery and translational development.

“For almost all chronic diseases, the preferred treatment schedule is: one pill a day. That is what physicians, caregivers, and patients prefer because it is the most effective treatment schedule around the globe, irrespective of easy access to specialized medical care. There is the clear opportunity for small molecules: to be the best oral, once-a-day therapy in fields that open up thanks to breakthrough innovations. Small molecules also face lower hurdles in terms of reimbursement, as they fit perfectly into the budgetary systems that were developed over the past 50 years.”