ABLYNX ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF PROPOSED GLOBAL OFFERING

REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION

GHENT, Belgium, 17 October 2017 - Ablynx NV [Euronext Brussels: ABLX; OTC: ABYLY], a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company utilising its proprietary Nanobody® platform to develop treatments for a broad range of therapeutic indications with an unmet medical need, announced today that it intends to offer and sell, subject to market and other conditions, approximately $175 million of its ordinary shares in a global offering, which is comprised of a public offering in the United States and Canada of ordinary shares in the form of American Depositary Shares ("ADS"), and an offer of ordinary shares in Europe and countries outside of the United States and Canada in a concurrent private placement. Investors other than qualified investors under applicable law will not be eligible to participate in this private placement.

Under the global offering, Ablynx intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional ordinary shares in the form of ADSs in connection with the ADS offering and a 30-day option to purchase additional ordinary shares in connection with the ordinary share private placement, up to 15% of the total number of ordinary shares and ADSs placed in the global offering. The total number of ordinary shares in the ADS offering and the private placement is subject to reallocation between them.

The final price per share of the ordinary shares and of the ADSs and the number of new ordinary shares and ADSs to be placed in the global offering will be determined following the bookbuilding process. Each of the ADSs offered in the ADS offering represents the right to receive one ordinary share.

All ordinary shares and ADSs to be sold in the global offering will be offered by Ablynx. Ablynx's ordinary shares are currently listed on Euronext Brussels and Ablynx has made an application to have its ADSs listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "ABLX". An application will be made to admit the ordinary shares issued pursuant to the global offering, to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels.

BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and Jefferies are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Baird, Bryan, Garnier & Co. and Ladenburg Thalmann are acting as co-managers for the offering.

The ADSs referred to in this release are to be offered only by means of a prospectus.  When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus can be obtained from BofA Merrill Lynch at NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte North Carolina 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department, or by email at [e-mail]; from J.P. Morgan at Attn: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, or by telephone at [phone]; or from Jefferies at 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10022, Attn: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, or by email at [e-mail].