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Biogen
built 636 days ago
By 1985 Biogen was using an estimated $100,000 each day in research costs. Furthermore, royalty revenues had slid to less than $20 million annually because the company had sold some of its patents. Biogen investors were fed up; the company's directors had already, in fact, pulled Gilbert from the chief executive slot and had been searching for a replacement for more than a year. Finally, in 1985, they hired James L. Vincent. Vincent graduated from Duke University, where he had been recruited to play football but did not because of a neck injury. He earned his M.B.A.
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Biogen is the world's oldest independent biotechnology company and a leader in biologics research, development and manufacturing. A pioneer in leading edge research in immunology, neurobiology and oncology, Biogen brings novel therapies to improve patients' lives around the world through its global marketing capabilities.
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Biogen has high hopes for Tysabri, a new multiple sclerosis drug that has the potential to become a major blockbuster. However, Tysabri was withdrawn from the market in 2005 after it was linked to a rare brain disease. After two years of safety reviews, the FDA has reapproved the drug which is currently being relaunched. However, investors still consider Tysabri a significant risk and a make-or-break issue for the company.
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Biogen has three main drugs on the market -- Avonex and Tysabri for multiple sclerosis and Rituxan for cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Some analysts said uncertainties about the future of the drugs were too great for buyers. Tysabri has been linked to a rare brain disorder, prompting close regulatory scrutiny. And competition has been heating up in the multiple-sclerosis market.
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Biogen racked up major points in the research and development game during the early 1980s, and positive press brought tens of millions of dollars into its coffers. Like most biotechnology companies, though, Biogen was burning through the cash as fast, or faster, than it poured in (the company went public in 1983). CEO Gilbert, in his quest for new genetically engineered drugs, established a global research and development network during the early 1980s that sported operations in Zurich, Geneva, Belgium, Germany, and the United States. Although impressive and sometimes effective, the organization eventually became unwieldy and lacked focus. Some critics charged that despite his scientific prowess, Gilbert lacked business skills. The company was a great place to do research, but it had yet to show a profit.
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Elan (ELN) dropped 7% after the Irish drug company and Boston-based partner Biogen (BIIB) said their Tysabri drug for multiple sclerosis can harm patients’ livers. The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which cited a note to doctors posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site. The development comes three years after the companies pulled the drug off the market for 16 months so regulators could probe Tysabri’s link to a rare, fatal brain infection. The drug returned to the market in 2006 after the FDA decided the benefits of the drug to MS patients outweighs the risks. The possibility that Tysabri could damage the liver has been reflected in the drug’s label since last month, Bloomberg reported, but the FDA says some doctors may not have known.
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