Genzyme completes expansion at Waterford plant
pharmafile | October 14, 2011 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | Genzyme, Sanofi
Sanofi’s Genzyme unit has officially opened a €150 million expansion at its ten-year-old biotechnology facility in Waterford, Ireland that will triple its fill/finish capacity and help restore supply levels for some of its critical medicines.
The 37-acre site currently employs 500 people and is a key component in Genzyme’s manufacturing network since opening in 2001, exporting medicines to more than 70 countries around the world.
Waterford’s importance in Genzyme’s network has become greater since a contamination issue at its manufacturing facility in Allston Landing in the US forced a shutdown for several weeks and interrupted production, leading to protracted and ongoing shortages of some of its key products.
Now, all fill/finish activities for US supplies of Genzyme’s rare disease drugs – including Cerezyme (imiglucerase), Myozyme (alglucosidase alfa) for Pompe disease, Fabrazyme (agalsidase beta) for Fabry disease and Thyrogen (thyrotropin alfa) for post-operative thyroid cancer patients – take place at Waterford and external contract manufacturer Hospira.
Waterford has seen four rounds of expansion and capital investment of around €500 million since it was set up, and the latest tranche of funding has gone towards increasing capacity at the company’s biologics sterile finishing operation, and added development capability, laboratory facilities and administration offices.
Chris Viehbacher, chief executive of Sanofi, which acquired Genzyme earlier this year in a deal valued upwards of $20.1 billion, said Waterford is a “strategic site within Genzyme and products from this location make a great difference in the lives of patients in more than 70 countries.”
Ireland’s minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Richard Bruton, said the announcement was further evidence of the importance of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors in encouraging multinational investment in Ireland in recent years.
“If we are to get out of the crisis we are in, we must continuously build on these strengths. We must continually encourage companies in these sectors to locate more important parts of their operations in Ireland”, he added.
Phil Taylor
Related Content
Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent receives CHMP recommendation for chronic spontaneous urticaria
Sanofi and Regeneron have received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee …
Sanofi’s treatment granted orphan designation for rare chronic inflammatory condition
The European Medicines Agency has granted orphan designation to Sanofi’s investigational Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) …
Sanofi completes acquisition of Vigil Neuroscience to early neurology pipeline
Sanofi has announced that it has finalised its acquisition of Vigil Neuroscience, a US-based biotechnology …
