List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Stories ran on Jan. 12, 2011, Feb. 16, 2011, and Feb. 20, 2011, in the Boston Globe and on boston.com.
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The stories track the final stage of the eight-month saga that delivered Genzyme Corp., anchor of the world-famous Cambridge, Mass., biotechnology cluster, into the hands of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi SA. They also trace the arc of a drama that resulted in pioneering biotech legend Henri Termeer first fighting to preserve but ultimately turning over the company he built to an overseas suitor. Among other things, they provide a behind-the-scenes look at how a deal that would change the face of the Massachusetts life sciences industry took shape.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
We reported the stories through in-depth interviews with the leading players, public financial documents, and talking to analysts, investors, competitors, and industry specialists.
Explain types of human sources used.
While the Globe is based in Boston and focuses heavily on local business, we sought from the start to cover the story from both sides, building relationships with senior executives at both Genzyme and Sanofi and with knowledgable sources outside the companies.
Results:
Our coverage gave readers insight into a merger. We have continued to follow the progress of Genzyme under its new owner Sanofi, which has used Genzyme as a platform for its entry into rare diseases and as an example to make the parent organization more entrepreneurial.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
We have run no corrections on the stories in the Genzyme-Sanofi package.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
This was largely a breaking news package, so our advice would be to develop strong working relationships with all sides, to anticipate developments, and to try to put fresh news into a larger context.