Biogen Idec

Biogen Idec Inc., is a biotechnology company specializing in drugs for autoimmune disorders and cancer. The company was formed in 2003 by the merger of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen and San Diego, California-based Idec Pharmaceuticals.

Biogen Idec is a member of the S&P 500, S&P 1500, and NASDAQ-100. It employs a little over 4,000 employees.

Locations of operation

Biogen Idec is headquartered in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and operates research and development facilities in Cambridge and San Diego. Biogen Idec operates manufacturing facilities in Kendall Square, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Hoofddorp, Netherlands. The company is also building a Large Scale Manufacturing plant in Hillerod, Denmark, which is expected to go online in 2008.

Biogen Idec maintains its international headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, and operates an International regulatory & clinical center of excellence in Maidenhead, UK. In Europe, Biogen Idec has direct commercial affiliates in Germany, France, Spain/Portugal, UK/Ireland, the Benelux, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Austria. In Italy and in Switzerland, Biogen Idec markets its products through two joint venture companies set up with the privately held Italian company Dompe Biotec. Biogen Idec also has offices in Canada, Australia, and Japan.

Competitors

Biogen Idec's principal competitors include Teva, Serono, and Schering AG/Berlex.

As of 2004, Biogen Idec derives most of its income from sales of multiple sclerosis treatment Avonex and from partnership royalties on Rituxan from Genentech, which markets Rituxan in the US. Roche markets Rituxan outside the US as Mabthera.

Management

BIIB is managed day-to-day by an executive group composed of nine officers. As customary for a publicly-traded company, BIIB is also overseen by a board of directors that votes on important company decisions. The executive chairman and chief executive officer both hold positions on the board of directors.

Executive Chairman: William H. Rastetter, Ph.D.
President, Chief Executive Officer: James C. Mullen
Executive Vice President, Development: Burt A. Adelman
Executive Vice President, New Ventures: John M. Dunn
Executive Vice President, Research: Michael Gilman
Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer: Peter N. Kellogg
Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Communication: Connie L. Matsui
Executive Vice President, Human Resources: Craig Eric Schneier, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Business Development: Mark Wiggins
Directors: Alan Belzer, Lawrence C. Best, Alan B. Glassberg, Mary L. Good, Thomas F. Keller, Robert W. Pangia, Bruce R. Ross, The Honorable Lynn Schenk, Phillip A. Sharp, Willian D. Young

News

On March 29, 2006, Biogen Idec and Elan announced that they had re-initiated clinical dosing of TYSABRI monotherapy in a safety extension study program in multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients who previously participated in the Phase III MS trials and subsequent safety evaluation are eligible to be screened for entry in this open label multi-center study.

On March 8, 2006, the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA voted unanimously to recommend reintroduction of TYSABRI as a treatment for relapsing forms of MS.

On February 28, 2005, Biogen Idec and marketing partner Elan Pharmaceuticals voluntarily suspended marketing of their product TYSABRI (natalizumab), and also suspended dosing in all ongoing clinical trials. TYSABRI had been approved in the US in November 2004 for treatment of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS).

The two companies announced the suspension after two participants involved in one study were diagnosed with a severe brain condition, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), after two years of combination therapy with AVONEX, another Biogen Idec product. One of those two patients died. Subsequently, another patient who had previously died in a separate clinical trial of TYSABRI in patients with Crohns Disease was re-evaluated as having had PML. In total, 3 cases of PML were identified, of which 2 cases were fatal.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has since initiated an inquiry into executive stock sales in the three weeks prior to the drug suspension. Executive Vice President and General Counsel Thomas Bucknum, who sold stock for a net profit of $1.9 million on February 18 - the same day the company notified the FDA of the PML cases - resigned his position on March 9, 2005, giving "no reason for his departure".

Several other senior Biogen executives made sizeable trades in the days immediately preceding the PML-Tysabri announcement.

On Feb. 15 Biogen Chairman William Rastetter sold $8.2 million in stock. On Feb. 14, Biogen vice president for human resources Craig Schneier sold $233,000 in stock while board director Robert Pangia sold $1.1 million shares.

Biogen Idec stock lost more than 40% of its value when the drug suspension news was released on February 28, 2005.