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Genzyme Calls for Research Proposals for Renal Innovations Program


WEBWIRE

November 15, 2005, Genzyme Corporation is seeking proposals from nephrology researchers for funding under the 2006 Genzyme Renal Innovations Program (GRIP). Over the past four years GRIP has awarded 36 grants, funding more than $5 million in innovative research projects that advance medical knowledge and practice related to kidney disease.

Genzyme outlined the proposal criteria at the American Society of Nephrology meeting in Philadelphia last week. An independent medical review board of leaders in nephrology will evaluate the proposals and award grants for a period of one to three years. The board has requested proposals in four key areas: macrophage function in chronic kidney disease, endothelial and epithelial cell responses to acute renal injury, non-classical actions of Vitamin D, and the role of endothelial cells in chronic kidney disease.

“The Genzyme Renal Innovations Program has become a visible supporter of groundbreaking nephrology research, as demonstrated by the growing number of high quality proposals we receive each year,” said Robert Guiberteau, vice president, renal clinical strategy and business development, Genzyme Corp. “Genzyme is dedicated to continuing this program, which we hope will lead to improvements in the medical care of people with kidney disease.”

Proposals must be submitted by March 31, 2006. Recipients will be announced at the European Renal Association/European Dialysis and Transplant Association Annual Congress in Glasgow, United Kingdom, July 15-18, 2006. For more information on the 2006 program and application details, please visit www.Renagel.com, www.Hectorol.com or send an email to grip@genzyme.com.

Genzyme awarded 10 GRIP grants in 2005. Recipients of funding were:

Corinne Antignac, professor of genetics & Ernie Esquivel, postdoctoral fellow, Hospital Necker Enfants Malades, France

Mark Dockrell, deputy scientific director & Paul Colville-Nash, scientific director, SW Thames Institute for Renal Research, St. Helier Hospital, UK

Eric Feraille, laboratory head, Foundation for Medical Research, University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland

John A. Kirby, professor of immunobiology, University of Newcastle Medical School, UK

Valentina Kon, associate professor of pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA

Martin Pollak, assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Institutes of Medicine, associate physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA

Susan Quaggin, Canada research chair tier II in vascular biology, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada

Pierre Ronco, professor of nephrology and director, department of nephrology, Hospital Tenon, France

Farook Thameem, instructor, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA

Kambiz Zandi-Nejad, assistant professor of medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA

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. Founded in 1981, Genzyme has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 8,000 employees in locations spanning the globe and 2004 revenues of $2.2 billion. With many established products and services helping patients in more than 80 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 diseases, and diagnostic testing. Genzyme’s commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development program focused on these fields, as well as heart disease and other areas of unmet medical need.

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements about: the effect of GRIP on the treatment of kidney disease and the anticipated timing of the announcement of the GRIP grant recipients. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: the actual recipients of future GRIP grants and the results of their research; the ability to evaluate and select the grant recipients in a timely manner; and the risks and uncertainties described in reports filed by Genzyme with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including without limitation the information under the heading “Factors Affecting Future Operating Results” in Genzyme’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2005. Genzyme cautions investors not to place substantial reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Genzyme undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements.

Genzyme® is a registered trademark of Genzyme Corporation. All rights reserved.



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