Antegren Case Study - 8261 Words

9-408-025 NOVEMBER 14, 2007 JOSHUA MARGOLIS THOMAS DELONG TERRY HEYMANN Antegren: A Beacon of Hope As Jim Mullen, CEO of Biogen Idec, drove into work on February 19, 2004, he considered both the tremendous hope and stiff challenge generated by the company the previous day. The company had announced its intention to submit an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for Antegren, a drug that Biogen Idec was developing in partnership with Elan to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). While the patient community and investors greeted the news with excitement, Mullen knew that to fulfill the promise of Antegren, he would need to make a number of crucial decisions and the company would need to bring the drug to†¦show more content†¦This process could take months and typically required extensive lead time to schedule meetings and review data with insurers—data that had to be convincing. Early FDA approval would mean short-circuiting that whole methodical process, and it was unclear if this could be finalized before the drug was approved. Although all the signals from the FDA were positive, there was also the risk that the FDA, which itself had been going through a period of upheaval, would not approve Antegren. If this happened, the reputation risk to Antegren could be irreversible, even if it was approved at a later date after further trials. Mullen knew his responsibility was nothing short of transforming the promise of Antegren into reality. He had to determine how to get the drug made and accessible to patients, and he had to lead the company to execute—in record time—on those plans. Mullen knew Biogen Idec could fulfill the high hopes of patients and investors, and now his task was to lead the company to do so. Biogen Idec History2 Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen was founded in 1978, in the early days of the biotechnology industry. The company’s underpinnings rested on a tradition of great lab science. The company was one of the first to develop recombinant proteins using genetic technology. Two of its co-founders, Phillip Sharp andShow MoreRelatedManagement and Teaching Note19520 Words   |  79 Pagesecch the case for learning case collections update 2007 Quarter 4 Visit the case search section of the ecch website at www.ecch.com to identify relevant cases from the ecch collection and view over 31,000 full text inspection copies. ecch provides a free monthly e-mail update service giving details of new cases from all sources. Visit www.ecch.com to subscribe. Economics, Politics and Business Environment 9-407-049 ALLIANZ AG: BECOMING A EUROPEAN COMPANY Lorsch, JW; Chernak, A Harvard