Content about Biogen Idec

NEW YORK — A privately owned drug maker in New York is offering $6.5 billion for Irish drug maker Elan, but hasn't heard back from it, according to published reports.

The Associated Press reported that Royalty Pharma's $11-per-share offer for Elan represented a 4% premium over its closing price Friday. Royalty buys royalty interests in drug products that are in late-stage development or have already entered the market, but doesn't develop or market drugs of its own, the AP reported.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Food and Drug Administration has accepted a regulatory approval application from Genzyme for an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis, the company said Monday.

Genzyme, a division of French drug maker Sanofi, said the FDA accepted its application seeking approval for Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for relapsing MS. The company expects the agency to decide whether to approve the drug in the second half of this year.

WESTON, Mass. — An experimental drug for Lou Gehrig's disease made by Biogen Idec has failed in a late-stage clinical trial, the drug maker said Thursday.

Biogen announced results of its phase-3 trial of dexpramipexole in patients with the disease, known technically as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The drug failed to improve functioning and survival in patients and failed to show efficacy in key secondary endpoints as well, the company said.

WESTON, Mass. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved two separate dosing innovations for multiple sclerosis patients that are being treated with a Biogen Idec drug.

Biogen Idec said the FDA approved Avonex pen, the first single-use, once-weekly intramuscular autoinjector approved for MS, and a dose titration regimen, which gradually escalates the dose of Avonex at treatment initiation. The drug maker said the new offerings are designed to improve the treatment experience.

WESTON, Mass. — Biogen Idec has appointed a former Lenovo executive to serve as its EVP human resources.

JERUSALEM — Multiple sclerosis patients treated with a drug made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries showed a "significant" reduction in their loss of brain volume, according to a new study.

Results of a five-year study published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences found that Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) produced significant reductions in patients' loss of brain volume compared with other disease-modifying therapies.

WESTON, Mass. — Biogen Idec has expanded its online resource for patients living with multiple sclerosis to include new resources and support programs.

MS ActiveSource features have expanded to include additional information and support on a range of issues, including financial assistance and nursing services. Additionally, the website also features a new online patient-to-patient community called ActiveVoices.

WESTON, Mass. and ZURICH — In a deal that will bolster its drug development capabilities, Biogen Idec has acquired a subsidiary of Swiss-based Neurimmune Holding AG.

Among other assets, the agreement gives Biogen the worldwide rights to three preclinical immunotherapy programs. The three programs are focused on the discovery and development of novel human antibodies that address three central nervous system targets: alpha-synuclein, tau and TDP-43.

BURLINGTON, Mass. The drug market for Crohn's disease treatments will see moderate growth over the next decade, Decision Resources reported Wednesday.

The research firm projected that the market will increase a little more than 31%, from $3.2 billion in 2009 to $4.2 billion in 2019, in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan. Decision Resources said the the modest growth rate masks such market changes as new and emerging biologics, as well as generic competition.