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Unlike many of its big pharma competitors which are shuttering US manufacturing facilities, MedImmune, the biologics division of London-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Friday, opened a second bioproduction site in Frederick, MD.

The site which will employ 250 or more workers was constructed to manufacture MedImmune’s products including Synagis, a monoclonal antibody-based treatment against respiratory syncytial virus infections in high risk children.

The acquisition of MedImmune by AstraZeneca three years ago signaled the company’s commitment to increasing it biologics offerings in its historically-traditional small molecule drug pipeline. While the reasons for the company’s decision to build a second plant in Frederick aren’t entirely clear, it is great news for Maryland’s expanding commitment to biotechnology. There are approximately 350 biotechnology companies doing business in the state.

The addition of over 250 biotechnology and manufacturing jobs is certain to stimulate the Maryland economy; something that other big pharma companies have been reluctant to do. Investing in biomanufacturing is something that can help the US reinvigorate its moribund manufacturing sector. And, whether you believe it or not, the US is still second-to-none when it comes to manufacturing biologics and other biotechnology products.

Hat tip to MedImmune for the bold move!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!! (try Maryland)

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While Genzyme has begun to address its manufacturing woes and its CEO and top leadership have managed to keep their jobs, the specter of a possible forced sale of the company has emerged. This is because Carl Icahn, the billionaire, activist investor with a history of forcing the sale of financially-challenged and underperforming public biopharmaceutical companies like ImClone and MedImmune, owns 1 percent of the outstanding shares of Genzyme.

Speculation is rife that Icahn and Ralph Whitworth, a founder of Relational Investors which owns 4 percent of Genzyme’s stock, may force the company to put itself up for sale. While many experts contend that this may not be in the best financial interests of Icahn and Whitworth (or other institutional investors), the threat may allow both men to get themselves or their representatives on Genzyme’s board. This would allow them to control the direction of the company and better position the company (the fifth largest biotechnology company in the world) for future sale. Henri Termeer, Genzyme’s embattle CEO, said he has had no contact with Icahn.

Investors have not been pleased with Genzyme’s current management team’s decision to plow profits from its orphan disease business into R&D activities that have been unsuccessful. According to a recent Citigroup financial report, the company may have squandered over $1.0 billion (throughout its history) by investing into unprofitable, non-core research areas including kidney disease diagnostics and surgical products. Conventional wisdom suggests that if Icahn and Whitworth gain control of the Genzyme board that they could sell off Genzyme’s unprofitable kidney disease and surgical lines which would allow management to focus on orphan diseases drug development and allow the company to fix its recent highly publicized manufacturing problems.  Relational’s Whitworth hinted that this is one scenario that he may be interested in pursuing. To date, Icahn has been uncharacteristically mute on a possible takeover attempt.

Stayed tuned for more details.

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!! (try Genzyme, they are probably looking for a few good biomanufacturing executives and managers)  

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Despite putting itself up for sale and finding no buyers, Carl Icahn still believes that Biogen is an attractive buyout opportunity for some unsuspecting pharma company. In fact, it was Carl who forced Biogen to put itself up for sale last fall (to avert a nasty proxy fight that he threatened). Carl, who owns 4.2 % of the company, believed that Biogen was underperforming and its stock price was too low.

To make his ongoing dream a reality, Mr. Icahn moved today to appoint three members (loyal to him) to the Biogen board. In an SEC filing, Mr. Ichan said that at Biogen's upcoming shareholder meeting he will nominate three people to Biogen's board (which elects four directors each year), and seek to cap the board's size at 12. If successful, Mr. Icahn would then be “within striking distance” to control a majority of Biogen's board by next year.

The three people that Icahn nominated were Alexander Denner, managing director of the Icahn investment vehicle Icahn Partners; Richard Mulligan, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and Dr. Anne Young, head of the neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Interestingly, Dr. Mulligan and Mr. Denner also serve on the board of ImClone Systems, which elected Icahn chairman last year, after a bitter battle during which Icahn accused the ImClone management of improperly developing its cancer drug Erbitux.

Carl has taken a fancy to biotech in recent years and now considers himself to be somewhat of maven.  Although there a molecular biology building at Princeton University which bears his name (he is an alumnus), he is still a corporate raider at heart. After moving into MedImmune stock in early 2007, Icahn threatened a proxy contest at the annual meeting if it did not find a buyer. Several days later, AstraZeneca said it would buy MedImmune for a whopping $15.6 billion. Carl usually gets what he sets out to do.

It appears that Biogen has not heard the last from Mr. Icahn. I suspect that things will continue to get ugly in Cambridge. Stayed tuned for updates!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (not at Biogen)!!!!!

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