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Biotech / Medical : VD's Model Portfolio & Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cytokine1 who wrote (3772)	12/23/1997 1:13:00 PM
From: lwd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9719

re:selling GENZL. You might want to consider the press release that came out yesterday from Genzyme on insurance coverage. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Date: December 22, 1997 Genzyme Tissue Repair (Nasdaq:GENZL) has seen a two-fold increase in the number of people covered by insurance plans that pay for its CarticelTM product as a matter of policy since the third quarter, as well as increases in the number of major insurance carriers with such protocols. Major health plans that have initiated protocols since October include Aetna/US Healthcare, Pacificare of California, and Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, a Virginia health plan. They join such insurers as Private Health Care Systems (PHCS), Blue Cross of California, Foundation Health Plan, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Oxford Health Plans. Workers compensation carriers with protocols in place for Carticel include Liberty Mutual Insurance, Travelers Insurance, Lumbermans Mutual, Continental Corporation, NJ Manufacturers, and the State Insurance Funds of Arizona, California, New York, and South Carolina. Carticel employs a proprietary process to grow a patient's own cartilage cells to repair knee damage. Genzyme Tissue Repair has marketed the product since 1995. When Genzyme Tissue Repair received a biologics license from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Carticel in August, the number of people covered by health plans with protocols for reviewing Carticel reimbursement requests was 15 million. Five weeks later, it rose to 53 million, and the total has since risen to 101 million. Over 50 percent of those with health insurance coverage in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles belong to plans that have protocols for Carticel. "By increasing policy coverage to over 100 million individuals, Genzyme Tissue Repair has met a major business objective for 1997," said Tim Surgenor, president of Genzyme Tissue Repair. "As a result of this effort, Carticel is becoming widely available to patients with cartilage injury in many areas of the United States." Five weeks after FDA approval there were 54 insurance plans that had protocols for Carticel. The 67 plans that now have such protocols include health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, traditional indemnity, and workers compensation plans. Unlike health plans that review on a case-by-case basis, those with protocols for Carticel approve reimbursement whenever patients meet the criteria set out in the protocol. They also make their reimbursement decisions more quickly - averaging reviews of less than 30 days, compared to over 100 days for those without such policies. Genzyme Tissue Repair has a team of 21 reimbursement specialists in the United States who provide support to patients and physicians, and work with payors to develop protocols for Carticel. Genzyme Tissue Repair is a leading developer of biological products for the treatment of cartilage damage, severe burns, chronic skin ulcers, and neurodegenerative diseases. It is a division of Genzyme Corp. and has its own common stock intended to reflect its value and track its performance. Please call Genzyme's corporate communications department at 1-617-252-7570 for additional information. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GENZL's target was 80-100 million patient coverage by year end. They have exceeded this goal. Lisa P.S. Thanks for the portfolio performance post to me last week.