NEW YORK (Reuters) - Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp <GENZ.O> is not for sale, despite recent interest from financier Carl Icahn, the company's chief executive said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Henri Termeer said in the interview published on Thursday that selling Genzyme to a big pharmaceutical company does not make sense.

"To integrate us into a very large entity is not that attractive," Termeer said. "It is not that good a logical fit. It is much stronger as it is right now -- as a stand-alone rather than as part of a company 10 times our size."

In the interview, Termeer said he had not heard from Icahn and first learned he was interested in Genzyme last month when a regulatory filing revealed he held 1.5 million shares of the company, or about one half of one percent of the firm.

A Genzyme spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

Termeer also said in the interview Genzyme expects earnings to grow at an annual compound rate of at least 20 percent over the next five years, citing the company's diversified products and the fact that it doesn't share the rights to its best-selling products with other companies.

Icahn has spurred deal activity in the biotechnology sector lately. He recently took control of ImClone Systems Inc <IMCL.O> and the Journal has previously reported he made an offer for Biogen Idec Inc <BIIB.O>, which put itself up for sale in October.

(Reporting by Emily Chasan; editing by Sue Thomas)