Drug industry's big name Biogen Idec (BIIB, Financial) is getting cut short and from March 23, 2015, it will simply be called as Biogen. The 12-year long fruitful and important tie-in with Idec is coming to an end. The company is eyeing to clear the final phase of Alzheimer’s drug experiment and bring it to the market by 2020. The announcement claiming successful experimenting on the drug was made last week.
Biogen's association with Idec Pharmaceuticals
The globally acclaimed biotechnology company, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been successfully inventing treatment drugs for neurodegenerative, hematologic and auto immune diseases benefitting millions of patients worldwide. Founded in 1978 by Nobel Prize winner biologists and researchers, Biogen merged with Idec Pharmaceuticals in 2003 and adopted the new name Biogen Idec Inc. It was a $6.8 billion deal, the second-largest biotech deal ever at that time, as per the New York Times. The company saw its market value multiply four times in the last three years to more than $100 billion due to its successful contribution in the industry.
After making the big announcement last week about better than expected results of the clinical trial of Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab in its experimental stage, the company now wants to put focus on developing drugs and treatments for some of the fatal and difficult to treat diseases. The company will change its logo soon; however, its stock ticker will remain unchanged. The company's website has already been revised. Biogen is hopeful of getting their Alzheimer’s drug approval within five years from now. They also have plans to reform the treatment of MS with progress on ALS, other neurodegenerative diseases and spinal muscular atrophy in kids within that time frame.
Biogen, while answering to its disassociation with Idec, said it is merely a means to reflect its evolution and its status of being a pioneer in the development of drugs for some fatal diseases and coming up with new therapies for them. Calling it a move to increase its focus on undeserved conditions like neurodegenerative diseases, Biogen is firm on keeping its leadership status intact in the industry.
Biogen's legacy of creating innovative treatments
On top of the list and most recent is the Alzheimer’s drug that is in the pipeline for Biogen, expected to reach stores five years down the line. Biogen did a small trial which was concluded as successful with a significant slowdown in cognitive impairment in patients and very mild symptoms came as a big blow to its competitors too including Pfizer Inc. (PFE, Financial) and Eli Lilly and Co (LLY, Financial). Although there was a minor hitch when some patients developed localized brain swelling who were receiving the highest dose of aducanumab, their number was just one-third, and they were advised to stop taking the treatment. Biogen is hopeful of doing a larger trial later this year and take the experiment to level 3. If successful, the company claims aducanumab will be the largest-selling drug in the market with 75 million people expected to develop Alzheimer’s by 2030.
Other achievements
Biogen has been actively working on other experiments as well. One among them is a new drug that will not only work on the symptoms but also on the cause of MS which will prove to be a big boon to MS patients. Biogen has already been making some very successful treatments for MS patients. They include Avonex and Tec Fidera with $3.1 billion and $2.9 billion being added to the revenues respectively. It also manufactures MS drug Tysabri which contributed $2 billion in the revenue of 2014.
The company has directed its focus on unmet needs and is planning to shift focus on creating biosimilar and manufacturing cheaper versions of older biotech products as they lose their patent protection. One such Step has been taken as a biosimilar Version of Amgen Inc.’s (AMGN, Financial) white blood cell booster drug neupogen has been created by Biogen. The company in collaboration with Samsung (SSNLF, Financial) plans to develop a total of six biosimilar drugs in the future. In the European market, too, it has applied for the approval of the biosimilar of two popular drugs –Â rheumatoid arthritis drug by Amgen's enbrel and Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ, Financial) remicade. Biogen's partnership with Genentech on the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment rituxan is equally benefiting the company. Failures are also there for Biogen including the one done with the ALS drug a few years ago; however, the company prefers to move on in search of new achievements.
Conclusion
Accounting to the announcement of the aducanumab drug news, Biogen's shares went up 9.7% on Friday and the company's stock touched an all-time high of $480.18 during the session. Although the name has shortened as it separated from Idec, the company is strongly moving ahead in the market with the help of some very experimental, in demand drugs and treatments.
