Henri Termeer, Dutch-born American biotechnology executive, Died at 71

  Business

Henri A. Termeer was born on February 28, 1946, and died on May 12, 2017.

He was an American biotechnology executive and entrepreneur.

Termeer is considered a pioneer in corporate strategy in the biotechnology industry for his tenure as CEO at Genzyme.

He created a business model adopted by many others in the biotech industry by garnering steep prices— mainly from insurers and government payers— for therapies for rare genetic disorders known as orphan diseases that mainly affect children.

Genzyme uses biological processes to manufacture drugs that are not easily copied by generic-drug makers.

The drugs develope, are also protected by orphan drug acts in various countries which provides extensive protection from competition and ensures coverage by publicly funded insurers.

From 1981 to 2011, as CEO of Genzyme, Termeer developed corporate strategies for growth including optimizing institutional embeddedness nurturing vast networks of influential groups and clusters: doctors, private equity, patient-groups, insurance, healthcare umbrella organizations, state and local government, alumni.

Henri Termeer passed away at 71 years old.