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.
