Partner Case Study

Genzyme Partners with NCC to Combat Rare Diseases

Named Individuals:
Tom Roane
Dra. Isabel Mattio
Raquel Colman

Genzyme Corporation and the National Cancer Coalition have a rich history of collaboration to provide underserved patients in the developing world patients with access to modern biotechnology medicines to treat liposomal storage disorders (LSD) and other rare or genetic diseases.  Over the past 6 years, NCC and Genzyme has collaborated in over 20 projects and provided over $7.5 million worth of life-saving medicines.

NCC and Genzyme are providing access to its life-saving bio-pharmaceutical products to numerous developing world countries, including: Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru and the Philippines.  The Genzyme medicines included in the individual donation projects consisted of Cerezyme, Myozyme, Aldurazyme, and Thymoglobulin.  These donations had a total U.S. average wholesale value of over $7,500,000.  Most importantly, many hundreds of patient months of therapy were provided to patients who otherwise would have gone without these vital medicines that they require for good health.  These vulnerable patients are now being assisted through our partnership.  This is heart of NCC’s mission and we are quite pleased to help patients with LDS and other rare diseases to survive.

As is required with sensitive biological or refrigerated pharmaceuticals, NCC ensures the storage requirements of our donated medicines in our climate-controlled refrigeration facility within our New Orleans warehouse.  We then transport the medicines to the overseas recipient countries while maintaining the cold-chain throughout the shipping process and importantly ensuring that the medicines are placed into proper refrigeration storage at overseas customs and at the overseas recipient medical facilities that treat the underserved patients.

One of the countries in South America with a relatively large number of Gaucher Disease patients is the tiny land-locked country of Paraguay.  In June 2010, NCC Senior Vice President of Healthcare Alliances Tom Roane visited Asuncion and met with the Centro Materno Infantil Hospital’s treating physician Dra. Isabel Mattio, as well as Paraguay’s Gaucher Disease Foundation President Raquel Colman and numerous young Gaucher Disease patients and their parents.  Roane commented, “It makes an impression to witness the restoration of life in these children whose spleen and livers had been so enlarged to dangerous levels.  We are proud of this program with Genzyme that is saving lives in Paraguay and many other countries of the developing world.”

About Genzyme

One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 12,000 employees in locations spanning the globe and 2009 revenues of $4.5 billion. With many established products and services helping patients in approximately 100 countries, Genzyme is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the most advanced technologies in the life sciences. The company's products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopedics, cancer, transplant and immune disease, and diagnostic testing. Genzyme's commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development program focused on these fields, as well as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and other areas of unmet medical need.

Website: http://www.genzyme.com/

Physical Locations:

South America
Bolivia
The Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Paraguay
Peru
The Philippines

Specific Brand Names

Genzyme
Gaucher Disease
Cerezyme
Myozyme
Aldurazyme
Thymoglobulin

NCC Campaigns

NCC Cares
SMART Program

Genzyme - NCC Cares