
Genzyme founder, biotech entrepreneur and industry legend Henri Termeer dies
Henri Termeer, one of the greatest and most successful visionaries in biotech, has died. According to the Boston Globe, Termeer collapsed at his Marblehead home on Friday evening. He was 71.
Termeer’s legacy rests on growing Genzyme into a world leader in orphan drug R&D, developing drugs for tiny patient populations, saving lives and pioneering an aggressive pricing strategy that made the field a popular focus among a whole generation of startups. (The 10 most expensive therapies on the planet are all orphan drugs.) Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher saw the value, and bought the company for about $20 billion in 2011, after Termeer had run the company for 30 years — a rare feat in this industry.
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