Genzyme's manufacturing woes are handing Shire a golden opportunity to cash in on its new therapy for Gaucher's disease. Citigroup estimates that the sudden interruption in Genzyme's supply of Cerezyme--which spurred the FDA to allow Shire to rush out velaglucerase alfa ahead of schedule--will be worth a $50 million windfall in 2010, $139 million the year after and 15 percent of the $1.1 billion market by 2012.
"The question for us isn't how much market share we're going to get in the short term, the question is how much can we get to the market," Shire Chief Executive Officer Angus Russell told Bloomberg. "I'm pretty sure demand will exceed that, hence the need for more drugs."
The new revenue couldn't come at a better time. Shire has been rushing to diversify as revenue from its big ADHD drug Adderall dwindles rapidly in the face of generic competition. Gauncher's disease is one of the world's rarest ailments, and Cerezyme has been one of the world's most expensive drugs.
- read the story from Bloomberg