Biogen Idec Inc. (Nasdaq National Market:BIIB (http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BIIB)) is a pharmaceutical company specializing in drugs for autoimmune disorders and cancer. The company was formed in 2003 by the merger of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen and Idec Pharmaceuticals of San Diego, California. Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. ... When normal cells are damaged or old they undergo apoptosis; cancer cells, however, avoid apoptosis. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... This page deals with the combination of two companies into one. ... Harvard Square, May 2000 Cambridge is a city in the Greater Boston area in Massachusetts, United States. ... City nickname Americas Finest City City flower Bird of Paradise City urban tree Jacaranda City native tree Torrey Pine Mayor Dick Murphy* City Attorney Michael Aguirre City Council District One District Two District Three District Four District Five District Six District Seven District Eight Scott Peters Michael Zucchet Toni...

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 Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and Oceanside, California. The company employs about 4,000 people. Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, located around the intersection of Main Street, Broadway, Wadsworth Street, and Third Street. ... The phrase research and development (also R and D or R&D) has a special commercial significance apart from its conventional coupling of research and technological development. ... Research Triangle Park, or RTP is a research park near Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina. ... Oceanside is a city in San Diego County, California, north of the city of San Diego. ...

Biogen Idec's principal competitors include Genentech (with which the company has a marketing partnership for the cancer drug Rituxan), Amgen, Teva, and Serono. As of 2004, Biogen Idec derives most of its income from sales of multiple sclerosis treatment Avonex and psoriasis drug Amevive, and partnership royalties on Rituxan. Genentech, Inc. ... Rituximab, sold under the trade names Rituxan and Mabthera, is a monoclonal antibody used in the treatment of B cell Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a kind of cancer. ... Amgen Inc. ... Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ... Serono S.A., formerly Ares-Serono AG, is a biotechnology company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Interferon beta-1a is a drug in the interferon family used to treat multiple sclerosis. ...

In February, 2005, Biogen Idec and marketing partner Elan Pharmaceuticals abruptly pulled multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri from the market after three patients involved in a clinical trial were diagnosed with a severe brain condition, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy after two years of combination therapy with Avonex; two of the patients died. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Élan Corporation plc ( NYSE: ELN), ( LSE: ELA) is a major drugs firm based in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland. ...

External links

• Biogen IDEC - Home (http://www.biogen.com/)
  • FDA Grants Accelerated Approval of Tysabri® Formerly Antegren®, for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (http://www.biogen.com/site/019_0.html?pr_id=../news/BiogenIDECPR_062.htm)
• Yahoo! - Biogen Idec Inc. Company Profile (http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/13/13209.html)
• Media
  • WSJ.com - Wall Street Journal Video - New Drug to Battle MS (http://online.wsj.com/public/page/0,,8_0000-LqhtbtlWgJaNjvYU24nV_q83i9quN7po-tztYlrxQmatcnGUz5UI2OczODZ8aOUf7,00.html?mod=)
• Wikinews report of Tysabr withdrawal (http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Elan%3B_Biogen_withdraw_MS_drug_after_death)