UPDATE 2-Galapagos sees more deals after Roche agreement

* Galapagos gets 6 mln euros upfront payment

* Says total payments could exceed 400 mln euros

* Deal focuses on treatments for "smoker's lung"

* Sees more deals, possibly this year

* Shares up 8.1 pct at highest since April 2007 (Adds comments from conference call, shares, recasts)

AMSTERDAM, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Belgian biotech company Galapagos (GLPG.BR) has signed a global development deal with Swiss drugmaker Roche (ROG.VX), and said it was in a research sweet spot that could see more deals signed this year.

Galapagos could net as much as 400 million euros ($573 million) in its biggest deal so far by using its specialised technology to help single out ways to tackle chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), commonly known as smoker's lung, which Roche could then take on, it said on Monday.

"We are really in a sweet spot for the pharmaceutical industry where we are exactly providing to them what all of them have set as their strategic plans going forward with regard to discovery research," Chief Executive Onno van de Stolpe told a conference call.

"We're clearly the number one biotech company in the world regarding alliances with Big Pharma ... we believe that this will also not be the last alliance that we will initiate. This has more potential for the future."

"There is clearly a chance that another deal will come through later this year," he added.

He explained that Galapagos was popular with Big Pharma companies because it gives them the chance to get involved early in drug programmes rather than waiting and having to compete with other pharmaceutical companies at a later stage.

For the Roche deal, Galapagos will receive an upfront payment of 6 million euros, and then future payouts will be linked to drug discovery, regulatory approvals and sales, plus the company will get royalties on commercialisation of any products covered in the agreement.

It is the second major alliance for the Belgian company in three months, and means it now has deals with five out of the top 10 big pharma companies, Galapagos said.

In mid-October Galapagos and Merck (MRK.N) expanded a deal to develop treatments for hardening of the arteries. That deal is now potentially worth more than 400 million euros as well. [ID:nLE181551]

Shares in Galapagos were up 8.1 percent at 9.18 euros at 0906 GMT, their highest since April 2007. (Reporting by Ben Deighton and Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Will Waterman) ($1=.6983 Euro)