Genzyme completes sale of pharmaceuticals business to International Chemical Investors Group

Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) today announced that it has completed the sale of its pharmaceutical intermediates business to International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG).

ICIG purchased substantially all of the pharmaceutical intermediates business, excluding the drug delivery technologies portion. The acquired business has been renamed Corden Pharma Switzerland LLC and will operate as part of ICIG’s pharmaceutical business within the Corden Pharma group platform of companies. Financial terms are not material to Genzyme and were not disclosed.

The approximately 120 employees of the pharmaceutical intermediates business will remain employed with Corden Pharma, which plans to maintain operations at the business’s primary location, a manufacturing facility in Liestal, Switzerland. The company will also maintain a U.S. sales and marketing office in Boston.

As part of the agreement, Corden Pharma entered into a supply contract to provide Genzyme with materials needed for the production of eliglustat tartrate, an investigational treatment for Gaucher disease type 1 that is currently in phase 3 clinical trials. ICIG will also supply materials needed for the manufacture of other treatments, including neo-GAA, currently in preclinical development as a potential next-generation Pompe disease therapy.

With this sale, Genzyme has completed the three divestitures announced last year as part of its effort to sharpen its focus on core businesses. In January the company completed the sale of its diagnostic products business, and in December it completed the sale of its genetic testing business.