The production setbacks for Genzyme’s rare-disease drug Fabrazyme are tragic for the people who need the medicine. But a petition to break the company’s patent exclusivity could do far more harm than good.

On 23 March, Genzyme announced that yet another batch of its Fabrazyme drug, an enzyme replacement therapy used to treat Fabry’s disease, had failed to meet industry standards for manufacturing procedures. For Genzyme, it was just the latest in a long string of production setbacks since the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech firm discovered a virus contaminating its manufacturing plant two years ago. For Genzyme investors, it could mean less money under the Sanofi-aventis buyout plan if the company fails to meet specified production levels in time. And for Fabry’s disease sufferers—many of whom are already taking only a fraction of their usual drug regimen while supplies are low—the delay could trigger more rationing and induce more suffering.

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