Prize-winning Wall Street Journal reporter, criticized Genzyme for selling a drug that costs $200,000 a year for the average patient. Anand noted that Genzyme “makes a profit of more than 90 percent on the drug.”In my post, I observed that Genzyme defended its pricing strategy in an article published in Pharmaceutical Executive in March 2006. At the time I wondered why the company did not start a blog in order to begin a dialogue about these issues. I thought that this strategy would be superior to relying on a trade publication to get its messages out. (I later found out that my assumption about Genzyme's communications strategy was incorrect.)
A few months later, I received an e-mail from Genzyme’s public relations firm,
Racepoint Group. Genzyme’s executives had read my article and wished to speak with me about Gaucher’s disease, its nascent efforts to reach out to bloggers and a new book by Anand, The Cure. It focuses on biotech executive John Crowley’s efforts to find and later develop a cure for his children who are suffering from Pompe disease. This disorder is rare and often fatal muscle wasting condition.
Intrigued, accepted their invitation. After our talk, I decided to write a multi-part series focusing on the biotech industry, Genzyme and The Cure. (Disclosure: Genzyme sent me a free copy of The Cure.) After months of work, it is finally ready for publication. Following is an outline of this series.
-Part I: The Biotech Industry: Definitions & A Brief History
-Part II: The White Knights: Medical Biotech’s Sterling Reputation
-Part III: The Quest For Generic Biotech Drugs: Pricing, Profits & Genzyme
-Part IV: Peeling Back The Onion On The Biotech Industry: Research, Patients & The Cure
-Part V: A Conversation With Pulitzer Prize-Winning Reporter Geeta Anand
I hope you enjoy this series. Your comments, as always, are welcome.
» The Biotech Industry, Genzyme & The Cure - Part I from HealthCareVox
This article is part of a five-part series focusing on the biotech industry, Genzyme and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Geeta Anand’s book The Cure. Please click here to learn more about this series.The Biotech Industry: Definitions & A Brie... [Read More]
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