Biogen and IDEC to merge to create new biotech industry leader
Two major US biotech companies - IDEC Pharmaceutical Corporation and Biogen Inc - are to merge to form what they claim will be a new global biotechnology industry leader.
Two major US biotech companies - IDEC Pharmaceutical Corporation and Biogen Inc - are to merge to form what they claim will be a new global biotechnology industry leader.
The combined company, called Biogen IDEC, will be based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and will employ more than 1,000 r&d staff with a budget of more than US$550m (€476m). The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2003.
'Biogen and IDEC are complementary companies in virtually every sense - therapeutic focus, r&d capabilities, manufacturing infrastructure and financial position,' said Dr William H. Rastetter, chairman and ceo of IDEC. 'Bringing our companies together accelerates both companies' strategic plans and creates a biotechnology leader with the products, pipeline, infrastructure and financial resources to grow faster than either company could achieve separately,' added James C. Mullen, chairman and ceo of Biogen.
IDEC has a strong franchise in cancer and a growing focus on autoimmune diseases, while Biogen is strong in the autoimmune area and is increasingly developing capabilities in cancer. The merger is ex-pected to enable the companies to:
• significantly accelerate their strategic plans;
• diversify their product portfolios and revenue bases
• broaden their respective drug-development programmes
• avoid duplicative and costly infrastructure build-ups, particularly in manufacturing and general administration;
• achieve cumulative operating expense and capital expenditure synergies.
The Biogen IDEC product line-up will be led by two blockbuster drugs, each with annual net sales of more than $1bn: Avonex, for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; and Rituxan, for the treatment of certain B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
Products recently launched by the two companies in the US include Amevive (alefacept), a biologic launched by Biogen in February 2003 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis; and Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan), a radioimmunotherapy for the treatment of certain B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, launched by IDEC in April 2002.