Myelin Repair Foundation Announces $250,000 Research Award from Biogen Idec

Main Category: Multiple Sclerosis
Article Date: 01 Feb 2005 - 11:00 PDT

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The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) today announced the receipt of a $250,000 award from Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB), a leading biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Funds from the award will be used to support the MRF's multi-laboratory collaborative research consortium focused on developing myelin repair drug targets that will lead to treatments for Multiple Sclerosis.

"Biogen Idec's award reflects the company's commitment to MS treatments and to pursuing creative ways to do science that will speed the time to market for critical drug therapies," says MRF Founder and President Scott Johnson. "Their acknowledgement of the MRF business-research strategy and the scientific team we brought together is an important milestone for our organization."

"We're pleased to support organizations such as the Myelin Repair Foundation whose work so thoroughly complements the efforts of our own research and development teams," says Burt A. Adelman, M.D., Biogen Idec's Executive Vice President, Development. "MRF has assembled five of the world's leading scientists dedicated to solving the problem of neurodegeneration in MS patients. We expect their work to make important progress toward treatments for this debilitating disease."

The Myelin Repair Foundation is the only non-profit research foundation solely focused on discovering myelin repair drug targets for the treatment of MS. The Foundation's revolutionary collaborative business-research model for accelerating the drug discovery process has also gotten the attention of other funding agencies and individuals including a recent $100,000 award from the Oakland, California-based Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation. Last spring, Intuit Founder and CEO Scott Cook donated $1 million to the MRF research effort.

The MRF research collaboration includes neuroscientists from Stanford University Medical School, The University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Case-Western Reserve University and McGill University in Montreal. By creating and collaborating on a shared research plan, MRF-funded scientists believe they can reduce the time to drug discovery by as much as 75%.

Biogen Idec creates new standards of care in oncology and immunology. As a global leader in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of novel therapies, Biogen Idec transforms scientific discoveries into advances in human healthcare. For product labeling, press releases and additional information about the company, please visit http://www.biogenidec.com

Carol Menaker - carol@myelinrepair.org
408-927-5164
http://www.myelinrepair.org

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