Genzyme maps big plans for R&D, manufacturing expansion

Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) isn't letting a little manufacturing crisis get in the way of its ambitious long-term growth plans. The big biotech outfit has blueprinted a massive 757,000-square-foot expansion at its Framingham, MA facility, with some 400,000 square feet of new space reserved for its research operations. The Boston Globe reports that state officials are reviewing plans for the new R&D complex along with added office and manufacturing capacity for its facility there. Henry...

Merck to shutter eight R&D facilities in global restructuring

Driven by a need to cut back after swallowing Schering-Plough while relying more on external development collaborations, Merck today spelled out long-awaited plans to shutter eight R&D centers around the globe, including facilities in Cambridge, MA and Montreal. In a release issued this morning, Merck said it would close research operations in Montreal, Canada; Boxmeer (Nobilon facility only), Oss, and Schaijk, Netherlands; Odense, Denmark; Waltrop, Germany; Newhouse, Scotland; and...

Lilly CEO outlines deal strategy to beef up its pipeline

Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter has been making the rounds with financial journalists over the last few days, stressing that the pharma company will bet its future on a new round of deals with biotechs and the $4 billion to $5 billion it spends on R&D each year. And you can immediately discount any rumors you may hear about a big acquisition. "We've seen no evidence that the large combined companies are going to be any more innovative than Eli Lilly currently spending between $4...

GSK aims for biotech attitude at R&D ops

Biotech thinking is in. The Big Pharma mindset is out. And you only have to stroll through the halls of GlaxoSmithKline's shrinking R&D ops to find telltale signs of the shift in development strategies. The Wall Street Journal's Jeanne Whalen took a tour and found no shortage of anecdotes about GSK's move to break its research unit into small groups in order to develop that lean-and-mean biotech attitude needed to move through the clinic quickly. The British scientist Kevin Lee even...

Boehringer looks to biotech for “targeted acquisitions”

Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim is planning to bring out the check book as it scours everything from early-stage biotechs to developers with marketed products for "targeted acquisitions" that can help the pharma company make up for the revenue being lost to new generic competitors. Boehringer appears eager to build on recent deals to acquire animal health assets from Pfizer and a Japanese OTC drug company. Biotechnology and start-ups are two key focus areas for new acquisitions, according...