NEWS OF THE WEEK BIOTECHNOLOGY
GENZYME TO BUY SANGSTAT Organ transplant drug will lead immune therapy drive
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O P I N G TO BOOST ITS E F -
forts at developing a business in immune suppression therapies and immunology, Genzyme has agreed to acquire SangStat Medical in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $600 million. Cambridge, Mass.-based Genzyme, with revenues of $1.3 billion in 2 0 0 2 , mostly from enzyme replacement therapies for metabolic diseases, has several drugs for immune system disease in development. The acquisition would net Genzyme a leading product in organ transplantation, U.S. and European field organizations, and a pipeline in immune suppression and immunology that complements its own. SangStat's main product isThy-
CONGRESSIONAL
moglobulin (antithymocyte globulin), a four-year-old kidney transplant rejection treatment with North American sales last year of $55 million. The Fremont, Calif, company reported revenues of $ 120 million in 2002. Both Genzyme and SangStat are profitable. SangStat's lead pipeline candidate is RDP58, an anti-inflammatory peptide that the company is investigating for use across a range of immune system diseases, including ulcerative colitis. RDP58 was discovered in partnership with Synt:em, a French in silico drug design company SangStat also has a partnership with Therapeutic Human Polyclonals, Mountain View, Calif, which is developing fully human
ACTION
SENATE BACKS INTO ENERGY POLICY Passage of last year's bill irks American Chemistry Council
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I T H ITS 2 0 0 3 ENERGY
legislation hopelessly entangled in procedural delays related to controversial judicial nominations, on July 31 the Senate passed again the same energy bill it had passed in 2002. The suggestion to substitute last year's bill for this year's was made by Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and agreed to by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who was under pressure to pass energy legislation HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
before Congress'August recess. However, last year's bill, crafted by Democrats, is quite different from the energy measure passed by the Republican House (C&EN, April 21, page 10). That sets up the same situation as last year, when House-Senate conference committee negotiations collapsed because of disputes over production incentives and environmental protection. T h e American Chemistry Council (ACC), whose members
VITAL STEP
polyclonal antibodies that can be applied to solid-organ transplantation, autoimmune diseases, and hematological tumors. Genzyme's antigen discovery expertise could accelerate the identification of targets and product candidates for polyclonal antibodies, according to the companies. Genzyme's immune disease drug pipeline includes CAT192, a human monoclonal antibody developed with Cambridge Antibody Technology, Cambridge, U.K., that is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of diffuse systemic sclerosis.-RICK MULLIN
are reeling from high natural gas prices, was looking for the Senate to pass new legislation that addressed a growing natural gas crisis. That didn't happen. "The Senate's action was shocking and disappointing," ACC President Greg Lebedev said. "The Senate has passed legislation that ignores job losses, ignores plant shutdowns, and ignores rising utility bills resulting from the high cost of natural gas." Despite assurances from Sen. Pete V. Domenici ( R - N . M . ) chairman of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee—that much ofwhat was in the 2003 bill could be recovered in conference, Lebedev wasn't so sure. "The House and Senate head into conference with little legislative foundation to fix the natural gas crisis," Lebedev said.
Immune suppression therapy routinely complements an organ transplant.
"The Senates action was shocking and disappointing/'
Lebedev
-DAVID HANSON
C&EN
/ AUGUST
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