Biogen Idec
Encyclopedia
Biogen Idec, Inc. is a biotechnology
company specializing in drugs for neurological disorders
, autoimmune disorders and cancer
. The company was formed in 2003 by the merger of Cambridge, Massachusetts
-based Biogen Inc. and San Diego, California
-based IDEC Pharmaceuticals (formed in 1986 by biotech pioneers Ivor Royston
and Howard Birndorf
). Biogen, one of the oldest biotechnology companies, was founded in 1978 in Geneva
by several biologists, including Phillip Sharp of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Walter Gilbert
of Harvard (who served as CEO during the start-up phase) and Charles Weissmann
of Zurich University (who contributed the first product interferon-alpha).
Biogen Idec stock is a component of several stock indices such as the S&P 500
, S&P 1500
, and NASDAQ-100
.
treatments Avonex (interferon beta-1a
) and Tysabri (natalizumab
); the latter is also approved for treatment of Crohn's disease
, and is co-marketed with Élan
. Biogen Idec also makes Rituxan (rituximab
), a treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which is also approved for rheumatoid arthritis
; Rituxan is co-marketed with Genentech
. The company acquired Fumaderm (fumaric acid
ester
s), a psoriasis
treatment (licensed in Germany) when it acquired Fumapharm AG in 2006. In December, 2007, Biogen Idec sold the U.S. rights for Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan
), another treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, to Cell Therapeutics, but continues to produce it for European marketing partner Bayer Schering Pharma. In 2006, the company sold rights for Amevive (alefacept
), another psoriasis treatment, to Astellas Pharma
, continuing to manufacture the drug under contract.
, and operates research and development
facilities in Cambridge and San Diego. Biogen Idec operates manufacturing facilities in Kendall Square
and in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The company has also built a Large Scale Manufacturing plant in Hillerød
, Denmark
.
Biogen Idec maintains its international headquarters in Zug
, Switzerland
, and operates an International regulatory & clinical center of excellence in Maidenhead, UK. Biogen Idec has direct commercial affiliates in Germany
, France
, Spain
/Portugal
, UK
/Ireland
, the Benelux
, Sweden
, Denmark
, Norway
, Finland
, Austria
, Canada
, Japan
, China
, India
and Australia
. 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.
, and Bayer Schering Pharma.
, 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.
, Phillip A. Sharp, and William D. Young.
Investor Carl Icahn
launched a proxy fight
seeking to elect three of his own nominees to the Biogen Idec board at the company's June 19, 2008 annual meeting of shareholders. Icahn's nominees were Alexander J. Denner, Anne B. Young
, and Richard C. Mulligan
, all of whom had served on the board of ImClone Systems
since Icahn took control of that company. None of Icahn's nominees were elected.
voluntarily suspended marketing of natalizumab
, and also suspended dosing in all ongoing clinical trials. Natalizumab had been approved in the US in November 2004 for treatment of patients with relapsing remitting 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 Biogen's version of interferon beta-1a
. One of those two patients died. Subsequently, another patient who had previously died in a separate clinical trial of natalizumab 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.
On 08/2008 the company announced 2 more cases of PML in Europe.
Biogen Idec stock lost more than 40% of its value when the drug suspension news was released on February 28, 2005.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
company specializing in drugs for neurological disorders
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
, autoimmune disorders and cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. The company was formed in 2003 by the merger of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
-based Biogen Inc. and San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
-based IDEC Pharmaceuticals (formed in 1986 by biotech pioneers Ivor Royston
Ivor Royston
Ivor Royston, M.D., is an oncologist, researcher, scientist, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, recognized for his efforts to develop treatments for multiple disease targets and to fund biotechnology companies with promising science, technology or medicines....
and Howard Birndorf
Howard Birndorf
Howard Civian Birndorf is a biotechnology entrepreneur and one of the founders of the biotech industry in San Diego, California. Along with former University of California professor and current venture capitalist Ivor Royston, Birndorf founded San Diego's first biotech in 1978, the monoclonal...
). Biogen, one of the oldest biotechnology companies, was founded in 1978 in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
by several biologists, including Phillip Sharp of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Walter Gilbert
Walter Gilbert
Walter Gilbert is an American physicist, biochemist, molecular biology pioneer, and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Gilbert was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1932...
of Harvard (who served as CEO during the start-up phase) and Charles Weissmann
Charles Weissmann
Charles Weissmann is a Hungarian-born Swiss molecular biologist.Weissmann went to Zurich University and obtained his MD in 1956 and Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry in 1961. Weissmann was director of the Institute for Molecular Biology in Zurich, President of the Roche Research Foundation and...
of Zurich University (who contributed the first product interferon-alpha).
Biogen Idec stock is a component of several stock indices such as the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
, S&P 1500
S&P 1500
The S&P 1500, or S&P 1500 Composite Index, is a stock market index of US stocks made by Standard & Poor's. It includes all stocks in the S&P 500, S&P 400, and S&P 600.-Annual returns:-External links:* * *...
, and NASDAQ-100
NASDAQ-100
The NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ. It is a modified capitalization-weighted index. The companies' weights in the index are based on their market capitalizations, with certain rules capping the influence of the largest components...
.
Products
Biogen Idec's products include multiple sclerosisMultiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
treatments Avonex (interferon beta-1a
Interferon beta-1a
Interferon beta-1a is a drug in the interferon family used to treat multiple sclerosis . It is produced by mammalian cells, while Interferon beta-1b is produced in modified E. coli. Interferons have been shown to produce about a 18–38% reduction in the rate of MS relapses, and to slow the...
) and Tysabri (natalizumab
Natalizumab
Natalizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against the cellular adhesion molecule α4-integrin. Natalizumab is used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease. It is co-marketed by Biogen Idec and Élan as Tysabri, and was previously named Antegren. Natalizumab is administered by...
); the latter is also approved for treatment of Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease, also known as regional enteritis, is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, causing a wide variety of symptoms...
, and is co-marketed with Élan
Élan
Élan Corporation plc is a major drugs firm based in Athlone, County Roscommon, Ireland which has major interests in the United States. In the late 1990s its value on the Irish Stock Exchange reached over €20bn. It has secondary listings on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange....
. Biogen Idec also makes Rituxan (rituximab
Rituximab
Rituximab, sold under the trade names Rituxan and MabThera, is a chimeric monoclonal antibody against the protein CD20, which is primarily found on the surface of B cells...
), a treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which is also approved for rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
; Rituxan is co-marketed with Genentech
Genentech
Genentech Inc., or Genetic Engineering Technology, Inc., is a biotechnology corporation, founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. Trailing the founding of Cetus by five years, it was an important step in the evolution of the biotechnology industry...
. The company acquired Fumaderm (fumaric acid
Fumaric acid
Fumaric acid or trans-butenedioic acid is the chemical compound with the formula HO2CCH=CHCO2H. This white crystalline compound is one of two isomeric unsaturated dicarboxylic acids, the other being maleic acid. In fumaric acid the carboxylic acid groups are trans and in maleic acid they are cis...
ester
Ester
Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...
s), a psoriasis
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system mistakes the skin cells as a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. However, psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of...
treatment (licensed in Germany) when it acquired Fumapharm AG in 2006. In December, 2007, Biogen Idec sold the U.S. rights for Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan
Ibritumomab tiuxetan
Ibritumomab tiuxetan, sold under the trade name Zevalin, is a monoclonal antibody radioimmunotherapy treatment for some forms of B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a lymphoproliferative disorder and thus affects the lymphatic system...
), another treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, to Cell Therapeutics, but continues to produce it for European marketing partner Bayer Schering Pharma. In 2006, the company sold rights for Amevive (alefacept
Alefacept
Alefacept is a genetically engineered immunosuppressive drug sold under the brand name Amevive in Canada, the United States, Israel, Switzerland and Australia. It is used to control inflammation in moderate to severe psoriasis with plaque formation, where it interferes with lymphocyte activation...
), another psoriasis treatment, to Astellas Pharma
Astellas Pharma
is a Japanese pharmaceutical company, formed on 1 April 2005 from the merger of and .Astellas' franchise areas are urology, immunology , dermatology, cardiology, and infectious disease...
, continuing to manufacture the drug under contract.
Locations of operation
Biogen Idec is headquartered in Weston, MassachusettsWeston, Massachusetts
Weston is a suburb of Boston located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Boston metro area. The population of Weston, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, is 11,261....
, and operates research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
facilities in Cambridge and San Diego. Biogen Idec operates manufacturing facilities in Kendall Square
Kendall Square
Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the "square" itself at the intersection of Main Street, Broadway, Wadsworth Street, and Third Street...
and in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The company has also built a Large Scale Manufacturing plant in Hillerød
Hillerød
Hillerød Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden . The municipality covers an area of 191 km² , and has a total population of 46,568...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Biogen Idec maintains its international headquarters in Zug
Zug
Zug , is a German-speaking city in Switzerland. The name ‘Zug’ originates from fishing vocabulary; in the Middle Ages it referred to the right to ‘pull up’ fishing nets and hence to the right to fish.The city of Zug is located in the Canton of Zug and is its capital...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and operates an International regulatory & clinical center of excellence in Maidenhead, UK. Biogen Idec has direct commercial affiliates in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
/Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
/Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Biogen Idec markets its products through two joint venture companies set up with the privately held Italian company Dompe Biotec.
Competitors
Biogen Idec's principal competitors include Teva, Sanofi Aventis, SeronoSerono
Serono is a biotechnology company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was founded as the Serono Pharmacolodgical Institute by Cesare Serono in 1906 in Italy. A key step in its development was the discovery of a method of extracting urinary gonadotropins by Dr Piero Donini allowing...
, and Bayer Schering Pharma.
, Biogen Idec derives most of its income from sales of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
treatment Avonex
Interferon beta-1a
Interferon beta-1a is a drug in the interferon family used to treat multiple sclerosis . It is produced by mammalian cells, while Interferon beta-1b is produced in modified E. coli. Interferons have been shown to produce about a 18–38% reduction in the rate of MS relapses, and to slow the...
and from partnership royalties on Rituxan from Genentech
Genentech
Genentech Inc., or Genetic Engineering Technology, Inc., is a biotechnology corporation, founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. Trailing the founding of Cetus by five years, it was an important step in the evolution of the biotechnology industry...
, which markets Rituxan
Rituximab
Rituximab, sold under the trade names Rituxan and MabThera, is a chimeric monoclonal antibody against the protein CD20, which is primarily found on the surface of B cells...
in the US. Roche markets Rituxan outside the US as MabThera.
Management
Biogen Idec 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. The directors are Bruce R. Ross (chairman), George A. Scangos Ph.D.(CEO), Lawrence C. Best, Marijn E. Dekkers, Alan B. Glassberg, Thomas F. Keller, Nancy L. Leaming, Robert W. Pangia, Cecil Pickett, Lynn SchenkLynn Schenk
Lynn Schenk is a former American Democratic politician from the state of California. She served one term in the United States House of Representatives, from 1993 to 1995....
, Phillip A. Sharp, and William D. Young.
Investor Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn
Carl Celian Icahn is an American business magnate and investor.-Biography:Icahn was raised in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City, where he attended Far Rockaway High School. His father was a cantor, his mother was a schoolteacher...
launched a proxy fight
Proxy fight
A proxy fight or proxy battle is an event that may occur when a corporation's stockholders develop opposition to some aspect of the corporate governance, often focusing on directorial and management positions. Corporate activists may attempt to persuade shareholders to use their proxy votes A proxy...
seeking to elect three of his own nominees to the Biogen Idec board at the company's June 19, 2008 annual meeting of shareholders. Icahn's nominees were Alexander J. Denner, Anne B. Young
Anne B. Young
Anne B Young is an American physician and neuroscientist who works on neurodegenerative diseases. She is the only person to have been president of both the international Society for Neuroscience and the American Neurological Association.-Education:...
, and Richard C. Mulligan
Richard C. Mulligan
Richard C. Mulligan, Ph.D., is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Harvard Gene Therapy Initiative.He is a Director of Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Biogen Idec, Inc..-Works:...
, all of whom had served on the board of ImClone Systems
ImClone Systems
ImClone Systems Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing biologic medicines in the area of oncology. It was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in New York City. On October 6, 2008, it accepted a $6.5 billion acquisition offer from Eli Lilly and Company, and became a...
since Icahn took control of that company. None of Icahn's nominees were elected.
Natalizumab withdrawal
On February 28, 2005, Biogen Idec and marketing partner Elan PharmaceuticalsÉlan
Élan Corporation plc is a major drugs firm based in Athlone, County Roscommon, Ireland which has major interests in the United States. In the late 1990s its value on the Irish Stock Exchange reached over €20bn. It has secondary listings on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange....
voluntarily suspended marketing of natalizumab
Natalizumab
Natalizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against the cellular adhesion molecule α4-integrin. Natalizumab is used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease. It is co-marketed by Biogen Idec and Élan as Tysabri, and was previously named Antegren. Natalizumab is administered by...
, and also suspended dosing in all ongoing clinical trials. Natalizumab had been approved in the US in November 2004 for treatment of patients with relapsing remitting MS.
The two companies announced the suspension after two participants involved in one study were diagnosed with a severe brain condition, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy , also known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalitis, is a rare and usually fatal viral disease that is characterized by progressive damage or inflammation of the white matter of the brain at multiple locations .It occurs almost exclusively in...
(PML), after two years of combination therapy with Biogen's version of interferon beta-1a
Interferon beta-1a
Interferon beta-1a is a drug in the interferon family used to treat multiple sclerosis . It is produced by mammalian cells, while Interferon beta-1b is produced in modified E. coli. Interferons have been shown to produce about a 18–38% reduction in the rate of MS relapses, and to slow the...
. One of those two patients died. Subsequently, another patient who had previously died in a separate clinical trial of natalizumab 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.
On 08/2008 the company announced 2 more cases of PML in Europe.
Biogen Idec stock lost more than 40% of its value when the drug suspension news was released on February 28, 2005.