Company Overview

Genzyme is a biotechnology firm with several subsidiaries concentrating on pharmaceuticals, molecular oncology, and surgical products. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it operates in 73 locations in 32 different countries, and its products and services are used in more than 80 countries. Many of Genzyme’s key products are so-called orphan drugs, which are used to treat rare diseases and whose profitability is improved by government incentives for their development. These include Cerezyme, a pricey drug for patients with the rare Gaucher disease; Fabrazyme, the first drug for Fabry’s disease; and Myozyme, a drug for treating the debilitating Pompe disease, which received FDA approval in 2006 and appears to be a welcome addition to the Genzyme family. Drugs for more common conditions include Renagel, a drug used in end-stage renal disease; and Synvisc, a last-resort treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee. And in addition to about 25 products on the market, the company has several promising drugs in the pipeline. The company has been expanding through acquisitions of firms that develop or produce drug therapies that fall within Genzyme’s focus areas. It also establishes mutually beneficial partnerships with companies and institutions for everything from drug development and research through distribution. In 2004 it acquired Ilex Oncology, which produced a drug for pediatric leukemia. In 2005 it acquired Bone Care International, which developed vitamin D hormones for treating secondary hyperparathyroidism, Avigen’s gene therapy assets, and a research facility for the development of adenovirus and related gene therapy delivery options. And in 2006, AnorMed agreed to be acquired by Genzyme; the company was developing a treatment for cancer patients undergoing stem cell transplants.