Shire, Zymenex deal will be boon to HGT unit

British drug firm Shire plc has acquired an experimental treatment for a rare disease from Danish biotech company Zymenex AS for $135 million.

The treatment, an enzyme-replacement therapy for patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy, is expected to become part of Shire's HGT business, which is based in Cambridge, Mass.

The treatment is now in Phase 1-2 clinical trials and expands the HGT unit's pipeline of drugs for rare diseases, according to Shire (NASDAQ: SHPGY) officials.

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Metachromatic leukodystrophy is a disease caused by a deficiency in an enzyme that allows storage of sulphatides in nerve cells and other organs, leading to progressive neurological damage, according to Shire. The disease affects some 2,000 people in the developed world.

Shire HGT, which is in the midst of moving its headquarters from Cambridge to larger facilities Lexington, is focused on marketing and developing biological treatments for serious diseases. The business unit employs 675 workers in Massachusetts and a total 750 employees worldwide.

Its parent company's shares also trade on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker "SHP."