BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON - After a two-year search, many overtures and offers of financial and other inducements, Genzyme Corp. selected Cambridge as the site for its first research and development center in Europe.

"We explored many possibilities, and in the end made a very careful selection," Carlo Incerti, Genzyme's head of R&D for Europe, told BioWorld International. "We were offered inducements and there was strong interest from many countries. But in the end it was not a difficult choice for a number of reasons - Cambridge stood out among the other possibilities."

The center will open early this year and will focus initially on the discovery, selection and validation of antibodies for the treatment of renal disease, cancer and immune system disorders. The initial investment will be a few million euros this year to start up the laboratories.

"The overall plan has not been disclosed, because it is linked to the licensing of some technologies that will be used in the labs, and we haven't talked about that yet," Incerti said. It is planned that 150 staff will work at the center.

Unlike other possible locations, Genzyme was not offered any grants or other financial incentives to move to Cambridge.

"We have very good relationships, but formally have not received any solicitation to set up in Cambridge," Incerti said.

Instead, the company was attracted by the city's status as the leading biotechnology cluster in Europe. The R&D center will be close to academic institutions, including Cambridge University, the Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and the Wellcome Trust's Genome Campus, as well as around 200 biotech companies.

"We chose Cambridge because we think, to date, the area of Cambridge and the UK climate is particularly favorable to the development of such a center," Incerti said.

However, Genzyme wants the center to be a focus for relationships with academics and companies from across Europe, acting as what Incerti described as a "technological antenna," and a "coagulation point for relationships."

The investment also is intended to send out a signal that Genzyme has emerged as a global company, added Incerti. The company already has around 1,000 staff in Europe.

The initial focus on antibodies will bolster Genzyme's research in the field. The move to Cambridge also brings the company close to a collaborator, Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc, with which it is developing two anti-TGF-beta antibodies. The first is in clinical trials in scleroderma, while the second, for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, is about to enter the clinic.

Last September, the companies announced a strengthening of their alliance, with CAT agreeing to fund 50 percent of the costs through 2006, while Genzyme made an equity investment in CAT of £22.9 million (US$41.2 million), bringing its total stake to 11 percent.

Genzyme has earlier-stage antibody collaborations with Kirin Brewery Co Ltd., Macrogenics Inc. and Therapeutic Human Polyclonals Inc. The company also has a polyclonal antibody-manufacturing site in France and is building a recombinant antibody manufacturing facility in Belgium.