Sanofi-owned Genzyme said today it will build a new $80 million downstream processing facility for its Fabry disease treatment adjacent to its new Fabrazyme® (agalsidase beta) cell culture manufacturing site in Framingham, MA.

Downstream processing involves purification of material harvested from cell culture manufacturing. The final product, administered intravenously, is formulated and fill-finished in a separate facility in Waterford, Ireland, and shipped to multiple distribution centers for labeling, packaging, and shipping worldwide.

“As we continue to meet the global demands for Fabrazyme and build inventory, our focus also remains on the future needs of the global Fabry community,” David Meeker, M.D., Genzyme’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Framingham is where Genzyme last year opened a $330 million manufacturing plant, in part using a $14.3 million grant from the state-created Massachusetts Life Sciences Center – the quasi-public agency that oversees the commonwealth’s $1 billion, 10-year Life Sciences Initiative – toward sewer infrastructure improvements at and around the site.

In February, Genzyme disclosed plans for a €44 million ($59.4 million) expansion of a plant in Ireland to step up production of Sanofi’s top-selling diabetes product Lantus.

“Following last year’s regulatory approvals of our manufacturing facility in Framingham and a new vial filling line at our plant in Waterford, Ireland, we continue to execute on our global manufacturing strategy, enhancing our capabilities across the entire manufacturing process for Fabrazyme,” Dr. Meeker added.

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