ABOVE: Chinese hamster ovary cells
WIKIMEDIA, ALCIBIADES
In 2009, the pharmaceutical industry experienced one of the most costly viral contamination events in recent history. When Vesivirus 2117 made it into one of Genzyme’s bioreactors for producing certain drugs, the fallout was dramatic. Patients struggled with a shortage of Cerezyme to treat Gaucher disease and Fabrazyme to treat Fabry disease when production stopped to prevent the contaminated products from getting to market. The company paid $175 million in fines, before moving to a new manufacturing facility with third-party oversight. Competitors were awarded fast-track designations for drugs to treat the rare diseases for which these drugs were suddenly unavailable. As the value of the company decreased, Sanofi was able to aquire Genzyme.
Biopharmaceutical manufacturers recognized that even if contamination never reached clinics, it could still create major problems for both the company and patients. Even with protocols in place to prevent contamination in ...
