Politics & Government

VIDEO: New $330M Genzyme Plant Offer Families Hope

Genzyme held a grand opening for its new biomedical manufacturing facility in Framingham Monday, which employees 500, and bring the total number of Genzyme employees in town to 2,300.

Genzyme held a grand opening for its new biomedical manufacturing facility in Framingham Monday, which will employee 500.

With the additional of the new 57,000 square foot 68 New York Ave. building, Genzyme now employees 2,300 in Framingham alone. Genzyme, a Sanofi subsidiary, is the third-largest biotechnology company in the world.

The newest plant's sole purpose is to produce a drug called Fabrazyme, which treats people world-wide inflicted with a genetic disease.

Find out what's happening in Framinghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The cost of the drug annually for one patient is $200,000. It takes about 8 months to produce the drug, which begins with a single cell from a Chinese hamster's ovaries.

Gov. Deval Patrick, Congressman Ed Markey, state, local and community leaders attended Monday morning's grand opening event, which included tours.

Find out what's happening in Framinghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The $330 million manufacturing plant was made possible with the a $14 million investment to the Town of Framingham to improve infrastructure, specifically sewer. Sen. Karen Spilka said this is a great example of a successful private-public partnership.

Genzyme President and CEO Dr. David Meeker also spoke of how important the $14 million investment was to the project in the attachd video.

Also featured in the video is Dan Kuusisto, a New Hampshire father and grandfather whose family deals with Fabry disease on a daily basis. he said Genzyme gives him, his family and families world-wide hope.


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