CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — When drug giant Sanofi restructured its global business two years ago, its Genzyme division got a new name, Sanofi Genzyme, explicitly tying it to the French parent company. It also got new responsibilities and a larger “specialty care” portfolio covering everything from enzyme replacement to cancer and multiple sclerosis drugs.
Last week, Sanofi Genzyme — still the largest Massachusetts biotech, with about 5,000 workers — also got a new president, Bill Sibold. He’s the first one without any ties to the old Genzyme, an independent company that pioneered the rare-disease business model and catalyzed the local life sciences boom before accepting Sanofi’s $20.1 billion takeover offer in 2011.
