Industry Veteran Ron Branning Joins Genzyme to Lead Global Product Quality
Brings Significant Manufacturing Quality and Regulatory Compliance Experience
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 8, 2010 - Genzyme Corporation(NASDAQ: GENZ) announced today that Ron Branning, a 30-plus year bio/pharmaceutical veteran specializing in the development of world-class drug and device quality monitoring systems and regulatory compliance management practices, has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Global Product Quality. In this role, he will ensure the quality of all Genzyme products manufactured at seventeen sites around the world.
"We are committed to the highest standards of drug and device quality for patients," said Henri A. Termeer, Genzyme's chairman and chief executive officer. "Ron Branning is a recognized industry leader in ensuring product quality, and we look forward to adding his experience to our corporate leadership team. Bringing in new senior leaders such as Ron is a fundamental component of our plan to renew and strengthen our manufacturing organization."
Prior to joining Genzyme, Mr. Branning led the quality and compliance functions at Gilead Sciences, where he was Corporate Vice President of Quality and Compliance, and Chief Compliance Officer. He has also held senior quality leadership positions at Genentech, Aventis Behring, and Somatogen (Baxter). Earlier in his career, he developed extensive quality experience at Genetics Institute (Wyeth), Boehringer Ingelheim, GD Searle (Pfizer) and Johnson & Johnson.
Mr. Branning has had oversight responsibility for a diverse range of products, including biologics, small molecules, and devices. His experience also includes the development of organizational models and systems that produce measureable and successful quality and compliance practices across multiple manufacturing sites. During his career, he has been recruited to build quality programs and compliance systems that resolved significant challenges, including FDA warning letters, consent decrees, product recalls, and FDA 483 post-inspection letters.
Mr. Branning will report to Genzyme executive vice president David Meeker, M.D., and have a direct reporting line to CEO Henri Termeer.
"Ron's experience and dedication to product quality are of the highest-caliber," said David Meeker, M.D., Genzyme executive vice president. "He has managed quality and compliance programs for global companies with diverse products, and has successfully led organizations through significant manufacturing events."
"Genzyme is a growing company with a vital mission and promising future," said Ron Branning. "I am very pleased to be joining an exceptional organization that is committed to developing important drugs and medical devices for patients who truly need them."
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 2008 revenues of $4.6 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, orthopaedics, 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.
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