Icahn wants to kick Termeer off Genzyme's board

We all know that Carl Icahn has complaints about Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer. He criticized Termeer repeatedly as Genzyme's manufacturing troubles built and shortages of its drugs allowed competitors to get their feet into that market. But now, Icahn admits that he's aiming to kick Termeer off the company's board entirely.

Icahn has launched a proxy fight with Genzyme, aiming to seat four of his own picks on the company's board--including himself. But until a new proxy statement was filed with the SEC, we didn't know just which four directors Icahn wanted to unseat. One of the four is Termeer.

For its part, Genzyme has issues with Icahn's board picks. Two of them, Alexander Denner and Richard Mulligan, are directors at Biogen Idec, which could be a rival in the multiple sclerosis market. And the company says that Termeer and the company's other board nominees have the right experience and credentials to do the job. "None of the Icahn nominees have the relevant manufacturing or operational experience that we need," Genzyme spokesman Bo Piela tells the New York Times.

And there's no question that Genzyme needs manufacturing expertise right now. With its plant problems and drug shortages still lingering--and an FDA consent decree looming--the company needs to make all the right moves to assuage investors and patients alike. We'll have to wait and see how that proxy fight shakes out next month.

- read the NYT story