On Jun. 5, 1986, Genzyme launched an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at $10 a share, and raised $28.3 million. Genzyme was founded in the Chinatown section of Boston in 1981 by Henry Blair, an enzymologist who had been collaborating with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a treatment for Gaucher disease.

The company was led by Henri Termeer, who was appointed CEO in 1981, and Chair in 1988, positions he held until 2011. That same year, Sanofi-aventis acquired Genzyme for $74 a share in cash or $20.1 billion in cash, plus payments tied to the success of the company’s drugs.