Genzyme Cleans Up Allston Factory

Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]), the Cambridge, MA-based maker of drugs for rare genetic diseases, said today it has finished sanitizing its biotech drugmaking plant in Allston, MA and is on schedule to re-start production there this month. Last month, the company spotted a viral contaminant that forced it to halt production. The company is now preparing to deal with 6-8 week supply shortages of two of its best-selling drugs, Cerezyme and Fabrazyme. Sales of Cerezyme are now expected to run between $750 million to $1 billion this year, instead of the company’s prior forecast of $1.25 to $1.275 billion.

Author: Luke Timmerman

Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.