FEDS CLEAR GENZYME DEAL TO ACQUIRE ANORMED

Genzyme's plan to buy Canadian drug company AnorMED for $580 million can move forward after successfully undergoing federal review, the company said.

The companies announced Nov. 7 the expiration of the 30-day waiting period for Genzyme's tender offer under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976. The act gives the federal government time to review the potential effects of mergers and acquisitions on competition.

Genzyme and AnorMED said Oct. 17 they entered an agreement where Genzyme would purchase AnorMED at $13.50 per outstanding share, or approximately $580 million. Genzyme came out on top in a bidding war with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, which was originally favored.

With the transaction, Genzyme acquires Mozobil, a leading drug in development for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Mozobil is currently in Phase III clinical trials and is expected to launch in 2008, according to AnorMED.

Studies of Mozobil show the drug rapidly increases the number of stem cells circulating in the blood, which would help prepare a patient for a stem cell transplant, Genzyme said. Approximately 55,000 stem cell transplants are used each year to treat conditions like multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to the company.

Genzyme plans to bring Mozobil to more than 50 countries through its existing global transplant business, the company said.