Genzyme Corporation to Build New $105 Million Facility to Make Thymoglobulin
In addition to the Lyon project, Genzyme is completing the development of a new plant in Belgium for the production of monoclonal antibodies and proteins and expanding other facilities, including its Allston Landing protein manufacturing plant in Boston. Genzyme also recently received regulatory approvals for a new filling and packaging facility at its manufacturing site in Ireland, which has become the company's major European center for the final production and distribution of a range of products, including Thymoglobulin. Genzyme operates fifteen GMP manufacturing plants around the world, seven of them in Europe.
Thymoglobulin's growth is being driven by its launch in new geographic markets and by publications and clinical studies. Sales last year increased 17 percent compared with the previous year. The product is currently approved in more than 50 countries for various indications, including the treatment and the prevention of acute rejection of solid organ transplants. Thymoglobulin has encouraging potential beyond the transplantation field, and current studies are exploring its applicability to hematological disorders and autoimmune diseases such as diabetes.
The new 140,000-square-foot facility in Lyon will replace Genzyme's smaller plant in nearby Marcy l'Etoile and will provide more than twice the manufacturing capacity. Approximately 165 people are employed at the existing Thymoglobulin plant, and Genzyme expects that approximately 50 new jobs will be created when the new facility operates at full capacity. The total cost of the project is expected to be Euro105 million.
The new plant will be located within the Lyon-Gerland Biopole, an area dedicated to biotechnology. The facility will be situated on a nine-acre site, which will allow Genzyme to expand the plant if needed, as it has done at a number of its other manufacturing locations. Construction is expected to begin later this year, and regulatory approvals are expected starting in 2010. Routine manufacturing at the site is expected to commence in 2011.
"As with our other new facilities, we intend the Lyon plant to serve as a highly visible expression of Genzyme's purpose, which is to innovate and set new standards in both the products that we develop for patients and in the way that we operate as a company," said Mark Bamforth, senior vice president for Corporate Operations.
Consistent with Genzyme's commitment to innovation and sustainable development, the facility will feature an attractive architectural design and innovative "green" features that will create a healthy and comfortable indoor environment for employees and reduce the plant's impact on the external environment. Genzyme intends to develop the site using a High Environmental Quality (HEQ) approach and to obtain HEQ certification by meeting or exceeding standards set by the Center for Scientific and Technical Building. The plant would be one of the first manufacturing sites in France to gain HEQ certification, which is similar to the certification conferred by the U.S. Green Building Council through its LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System(TM).
In the United States, Genzyme is currently completing the construction of a new Science Center, which could become one of the first research laboratories to earn certification under the LEED system. In addition, the company's landmark world headquarters building, Genzyme Center, has earned Platinum certification-the highest possible rating under the LEED system.
The Lyon facility will incorporate progressive design strategies similar to those in Genzyme Center and the Science Center. The initial design of the Lyon facility was completed by French architects Patriarche & Co. and engineers SNC Lavalin, in collaboration with Genzyme.
"This investment sends a clear message of support for French research and biotechnology and it illustrates Genzyme's culture of establishing strong partnerships in the regions where we operate," said Frederic Turner, Genzyme's senior vice president and general manager for France and North Africa.
About Genzyme
One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 9,000 employees in locations spanning the globe and 2006 revenues of $3.2 billion. Genzyme has been selected by FORTUNE as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for" in the United States.
With many established products and services helping patients in nearly 90 countries, Genzyme is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the most advanced technologies in the life sciences. The company's products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant, and diagnostic testing. Genzyme's commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development program focused on these fields, as well as immune disease, infectious disease, and other areas of unmet medical need.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about: plans for Genzyme's new manufacturing facilities in Lyon, including the anticipated timing of the opening of the facility and expected regulatory approvals, the planned focus of work to be conducted at the facility, expected manufacturing capacity increases and estimated costs, estimated workforce, and the expected benefits that will be derived from establishing the facility; plans for Genzyme's facilities in Belgium and U.S., including Allston Landing and the Science Center, and anticipated timing thereof; anticipated ability to meet demand for Thymoglobulin; and anticipated growth of the market for Thymoglobulin. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: ability to obtain any governmental or other required approvals to implement Genzyme's plans for the Lyon facility, and the timing thereof; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel to work at the Lyon facility; the competitive environment for Genzyme's products and programs; the accuracy of Genzyme's information about the transplant patient population; Genzyme's ability to manufacture Thymoglobulin in a timely and cost effective manner; and the risks and uncertainties described in reports filed by Genzyme with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation the factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Genzyme's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2007. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the statements.
Genzyme® and Thymoglobulin® are registered trademarks of Genzyme Corporation. All rights reserved.
Genzyme's press releases and other company information are available at http://www.genzyme.com and by calling Genzyme's investor information line at 1-800-905-4369 within the United States or 1-703-797-1866 outside the United States.
Media Contact: Bo Piela (617) 768-6579
Investor Contact: Sally Curley (617) 768-6140
Source: Genzyme Corp.