A European drugmaker is opening an office in Boston and setting its sights on a big goal: growing its rare disease revenue from nearly zero to hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. will open up a 10-person office in Boston this year and plans to expand to 40 to 50 staff members by the end of 2021. The Parma, Italy-based company has around 5,600 employees worldwide.
The Boston office will specifically be focused on rare blood, ophthalmology and lysosomal storage disorders. The drugmaker opened its U.S. headquarters in North Carolina last year to accommodate continuing growth
Chiesi Farmaceutici has had its eye on rare disease products for the last few years, but the company’s Head of Global Rare Diseases Giacomo Chiesi said that business is currently very small, bringing in $20 million to $30 million outside of the U.S. and close to nothing within the 50 states. He believes the company can boost its rare disease revenue to hundreds of millions of dollars within the next five years.
