Genzyme Corp. broke ground on a $150 million expansion project at its Allston Landing manufacturing facility in Boston that will add space for manufacturing support functions and will create 90 jobs.

Commercial production at Allston Landing, which began in 1996, was initially intended to produce Cerezyme and has grown to include four additional products: Fabrazyme for Fabry disease, Myozyme for Pompe disease, as well as the filling and packaging for Aldurazyme for MPS I disease and Thyrogen, used for screening patients who have had thyroid cancer. This growth in manufacturing capacity now requires additional space for manufacturing support operations, offices and mechanical equipment.

"The expansion of Allston Landing will help sustain the continued growth of Genzyme's products," said Henri A. Termeer, chairman and chief executive officer of Genzyme. "It will enable us to continue to fulfill our long-term commitment to deliver these life-saving treatments to patients around the world."

The expansion project includes 86,000 sq. ft. of new office and manufacturing-support space. The company is also building a 26,000-sq.-ft. underground co-generation facility, which will generate steam to run the plant's process operations and will also produce electricity. The company plans to seek certification for the expansion under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System.

Catalent Pharma Solutions

4Q Revenues: $451.3 million (+5%)

4Q Loss: $168.7 million (earnings were $27.6 million 4Q2006)

FY Revenues: $1.7 billion (+6%)

FY Loss: $127.3 million (earnings were $51 million FY2006)

Comments: FY and 4Q revenue growth was primarily driven by the Packaging Services segment, particularly within Europe, as well as from continued strong demand for Zydis products within the Oral Technologies segment. Packaging Services revenue was $138 million in the quarter, up 11% and for the year was $552 million, up 14%. In April 2007, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group acquired the company from Cardinal Health for approximately $3.3 billion.

Robert J. Heine, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P., will join Eli Lilly and Co. in January, 2008, as executive medical director for the diabetes and endocrine division responsible for development of Lilly's expanding diabetes and obesity R&D portfolio. Dr. Heine replaces Dr. Meng Hee Tan, who will retire at the end of September after 8 years of service to the company.

“Lilly has a growing and exciting diabetes and obesity R&D portfolio that demands exceptional clinical leadership to guide and successfully develop," said Vince Mihalik, vice president and global brand development platform leader, diabetes, obesity and endocrine. "Robert is widely recognized and respected in the diabetes community for his scientific and clinical excellence and his considerable leadership abilities. He'll be a fantastic addition to the Lilly team."

Dr. Heine is currently professor of diabetology in the Department of Endocrinology and director of the Diabetes Centre at the VU (Vrije Universiteit) University Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He also holds positions within the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA), including chair of the EASD subcommittee for Clinical Research Training, president of the organizing committee for the 2007 EASD annual meeting, and a member of the ADA Expert Committee on guidelines for the treatment of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. Dr. Heine's primary research interests include the epidemiology and pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.