Product Development
Continuing the conversation with Henri: Termeer Square dedicated
Honoring a man whose dedication to patients yielded therapies that transformed the lives of people medicine had left behind
A sculpture in the heart of the Cambridge, Mass., biotech hub honors a man whose passion, dedication to patients — and stubbornness — led him to develop therapies that transformed the lives of people medicine had left behind.
It seemed to many people when Henri Termeer died that he’d left them in the middle of a conversation. That’s why a sculpture of Termeer in a memorial park dedicated Friday depicts him engaged in a discussion, waiting for passersby to sit and continue the conversation, Belinda Termeer, president and co-founder of The Termeer Foundation, explained.
“So many people wanted to finish these unfinished conversations with Henri,” she told BioCentury. Many of those conversations were with the biotech CEOs he mentored and with patients who had been saved by the drugs he brought to life.
The sculpture is part of Henri A. Termeer Square, a space for conversation and reflection settled into a piece of Kendall Square in the heart of the Cambridge, Mass., biotech hub.
The memorial space is adjacent to the site of the one-time headquarters of Genzyme Corp., the company Termeer led for three decades. He left the company when it was acquired by Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NASDAQ:SNY) in 2011.
When he died in May 2017, Henri was remembered as a man whose passion, dedication to patients — and stubbornness — led him to develop therapies that transformed the lives of people medicine had left behind, those with extremely rare diseases, and to pioneer a business model that made it possible to sustain biomedical innovation for orphan conditions.
The ecosystem that has emerged in recent decades to create medicines for rare diseases is the direct result of Termeer’s work.
Like the sculpture in Termeer Square, the foundation established in Termeer’s honor is dedicated to continuing conversations. Its cornerstone is the Henri Termeer Network, a group of 16 mentors who provide expertise and connections to selected CEOs of young companies that are developing medicines for people with rare diseases. Each year four of five fellows are selected to join the network.
John Maraganore, a Termeer Network mentor and member of the foundation’s board of directors, told BioCentury the foundation is “carrying on Henri’s legacy of what he brought to a range of communities -- the rare disease community, but also young entrepreneurs. He was passionate about supporting young leaders in the life sciences.” Maraganore is CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY).
The Henri A. Termeer Square was privately financed by life sciences companies and their leaders.