Genzyme’s HAND program recognized at Clinton Global Initiative

Genzyme is proud to participate in the fifth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative taking place this week in New York City. The initiative, hosted by President Bill Clinton, is a forum for participants to develop and implement workable solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Genzyme will be recognized for its commitment of aid and human resources to fight neglected diseases such as malaria, African sleeping sickness, and Chagas disease. Genzyme’s Senior Vice President James Geraghty will be among the global leaders in attendance.

Through its pioneering Humanitarian Assistance for Neglected Diseases (HAND) initiative, Genzyme addresses unmet medical needs by partnering with non-profit and public health organizations to develop innovative therapies. Since the HAND program was launched in 2006, Genzyme has made available hundreds of thousands of compounds, and has dedicated tens-of thousands of scientist hours annually to these collaborations. Because the company does not seek to profit from these collaborations, all intellectual property in the field of neglected disease is donated to non-profit partners.

Neglected diseases affect hundreds of millions of people in poor and developing countries, but have received relatively little industry research and development investment. Genzyme believes that the biotech industry, with its unique capabilities and resources, has a responsibility to contribute to solutions to these devastating diseases.

“There remains a significant need for the development of novel drugs to treat and prevent life-threatening neglected diseases, and our industry has the unique opportunity to participate in the solution by identifying drug targets and helping to accelerate development and delivery of effective therapies,” James Geraghty said.

Among Genzyme’s HAND collaborations is a partnership with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) located in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Genzyme and Fiocruz are helping find a solution to Chagas disease, a potentially life-threatening disease that affects millions in Latin America. Through HAND, the company has brought together academic researchers specializing in Chagas disease and Genzyme scientists specializing in small molecule drug development. At its Waltham, Mass. facility, Genzyme and Fiocruz scientists work to screen compounds with the potential to treat Chagas disease.

In addition, Genzyme’s collaboration with the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and Medicines for Malaria Ventures continues to make progress in addressing the significant need for novel treatments for malaria, a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. To date, the company has yielded two compound families that have advanced into lead optimization, the stage of drug discovery in which testing is applied to compounds believed to have promising drug-like properties. According to the World Health Organization, Malaria causes nearly one million deaths per year.

“We are proud of and encouraged by the progress we, together with our partners, have made to date, but we have only just begun the work that needs to be done in this important area,” added Geraghty. “The Clinton Initiative is a great opportunity to highlight Genzyme’s commitment to identify support for neglected diseases into the future, by exploring new collaborations with the hopes of discovering a solution.”

In the video below, Genzyme Senior Vice President James Geraghty discusses neglected diseases with Genzyme Up Close’s Dianna Sacco.