Life Sciences, FDA, Gaucher's Disease

Another Genzyme Rival Advancing

Ryan McBride 9/1/09

The corporate parent of Cambridge, MA-based Shire Human Genetic Therapies said today that it has wrapped up the submission of its FDA application for approval of velaglucerase alfa, an enzyme-replacement therapy for patients with Type 1 Gaucher’s disease. The company still needs FDA approval before it begins U.S. sales of the treatment. Cambridge-based Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) sells the market-leading drug for Gaucher’s disease, imiglucerase (Cerezyme). Shire Human Genetic Therapies, which is developing velaglucerase alfa, is a unit of the Irish drug firm Shire (LSE:SHP).

Ryan McBride is Xconomy's correspondent. You can reach him at rmcbride@xconomy.com, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Ryan_McBride.