Genzyme acquires European facility
Genzyme, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has acquired certain assets of the Belgian subsidiary of the Pharming Group, currently operating under a court-supervised receivership. The acquisition has been approved by the Commercial Court in Turnhout and Genzyme's board of directors.
The assets include a 70,000ft² cGMP protein manufacturing facility currently under construction, and a pilot plant that is being used to produce transgenic human α-Glucosidase. Both are located in Geel in Belgium. Genzyme intends to retain all the full-time Pharming employees.
In the short term, the acquisition is intended to allow Genzyme to assume control over the production of the transgenic enzyme and secure its supply to nine patients with Pompe disease participating in the extension of a clinical trial. In the longer term, it will broaden Genzyme's worldwide manufacturing infrastructure by providing the company with a European biopharmaceutical production facility.
Genzyme plans to increase protein production capacity in Geel significantly and begin full manufacturing operations there in 2003. It has suspended plans to construct a recombinant protein production facility adjacent to its campus in Framingham, Massachusetts, US.
