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Research Helping
Multiple Sclerosis Treatment
Biogen-IDEC
In 1978, Dr. Walter Gilbert of Harvard, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1980
for his method for decoding DNA, and Dr. Phillip Sharp of MIT, who received a
Nobel Prize in 1993 for his discovery of split genes, were members of a group
of international biologists who sparked the formation of a new kind of pharmaceutical
company. Each of these researchers was a leader in a new field of science called
genetic engineering. The new company's goal was to use research on human genes
to improve healthcare. Biogen was born.
 Biogen,
in Cambridge's "Genetown," is the world's oldest independent biopharmaceutical
company. Its early research led to the first effective treatment for hepatitis
B and C, and to a vaccine against hepatitis B. Biogen developed Avonex, which
is widely used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis to slow down the progression
of the disease and reduce the number of disease flareups. Approved by the FDA
in 2003, Amevive is the first biologic drug approved to treat psoriasis.
Biogen
recently merged with Idec Pharmaceutical Corporation of San Diego. The headquarters
of the newly merged firm is in "Genetown."
www.biogen.com
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