BIOGEN IDEC (BIIB) was created from the merger of Biogen and IDEC Pharmaceuticals in November 2003.  The firm’s products are breakthroughs and blockbusters. The three famous breakthrough blockbusters are: 

Rituxan® (rituximab), which was originally developed to treat B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL), has become the master key that opens the door for the treatment of many chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. This drug is partnered with Genentech.

Avonex® (Interferon beta-1a) for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) became the first MS product to achieve $1 billion in sales in 2002.

Tysabri, also for MS, was co-developed with Elan. .

There are over twenty drug candidates in Biogen-IDEC’s pipeline. Most are in clinical and preclinical development and some in research. They target cancer, neurological and immunological diseases, as well as one product in mid-phase clinical development for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

BIOGEN IDEC has numerous alliances. It supports emerging biotech companies through Biogen Idec New Ventures corporate venture group.

The firm is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and maintains centers of excellence in San Diego, California and Cambridge focused on oncology and immunology. The company has additional offices in Canada, Australia, Japan and throughout Europe. The company currently employs approximately 4,000 people worldwide Web. www.biogenidec.com