Biogen Idec, Inc. - Securities Class Action

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Copyright (c) 2001
Stanford Law School

Biogen Idec, Inc. Summary: According to a press release dated August 11, 208, an appeal court has upheld the dismissal of a consolidated securities class action against Biogen Idec Inc. for the 2005 stock drop that resulted when the drugmaker temporarily yanked its multiple sclerosis treatment from the market. A three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Thursday denied the plaintiffs' appeal, finding they had failed to show how company executives would have known about the risks associated with the drug Tysabri well before disclosing them to the public in February 2005.

On October 15, 2007, a Notice of Appeal was filed as to the Order on the motion to dismiss. The appeal is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

On November 15, 2006, the Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Consolidated Class Action Complaint. On September 14, 2007, the Court entered the Order allowing the Defendants’ motion to dismiss.

According to the Company’s FORM 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2006, several actions have been consolidated with the Brown case. On October 13, 2006, the plaintiffs filed an amended consolidated complaint which, among other amendments to the allegations, adds as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, the Company’s Executive Vice President of Portfolio Strategy, and the Company’s former General Counsel.

The original complaint charges Biogen and certain of its current executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that TYSABRI posed serious immune-system side effects; (2) that TYSABRI, like other MS drugs, made patients susceptible to progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy ("PML") by changing the way certain white blood cells function, thereby allowing PML, a normally dormant virus, to run rampant within the human body; (3) that defendants knew and/or recklessly disregarded documented facts that MS drugs can cause greater incidents of PML to occur; and (4) that defendants concealed these facts in order to fast track TYSABRI for FDA approval so that they could reap the financial benefits from the sales of the drug.

The complaint further alleges on or around February 28, 2005, before the market opened, Biogen announced a voluntary suspension in the marketing of TYSABRI® (natalizumab), a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), because of two serious adverse events that have occurred in patients treated with TYSABRI in combination with AVONEX® (Interferon beta-1a) in clinical trials. News of this shocked the market. As a result, shares of Biogen fell $28.63 per share, or 42.44 percent, to close at $38.65 on unusually high trading volume.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 2836
Sector: Healthcare
Industry: Biotechnology & Drugs

COMPANY/ISSUER NAME:	Biogen Idec, Inc.
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER:	BIIB
COMPANY WEBSITE:	http://www.idecpharm.com/

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE

Charles Brown, et al. v. Biogen Idec Inc., et al.

COURT: D. Massachusetts	DOCKET NUMBER: 05-CV-10400
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Reginald C. Lindsay
DATE FILED: 3/3/2005	SOURCE: Notice of Filing
CLASS PERIOD START: 2/18/2004	CLASS PERIOD END: 2/25/2005
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Complaint (Unamended and Unconsolidated)
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Brodsky & Smith, LLC (Pennysylvania) 11 Bala Avenue, Suite 39, Bala Cynwyd, PA, 19004 (voice) 610.668.7987, (fax) 610.660.0450, esmith@Brodsky-Smith.com Dyer & Shuman, LLP 801 East 17th Avenue, Denver, CO, 80218-1417 (voice) 303.861.3003, (fax) 800.711.6483, info@dyershuman.com Gilman & Pastor Stonehill Corporate Center 999 Broadway Suite 500, Saugus, MA, 01906 (voice) 781.231.7850, (fax) 781.231.7840, Law Offices of Charles J. Piven, P.A. World Trade Center-Baltimore,401 East Pratt Suite 2525, Baltimore, MD, 21202 (voice) 410.332.0030, (fax) , pivenlaw@erols.com Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP 275 Madison Ave 34th Flr, New York, NY, 10016 (voice) 212.682.1818, (fax) 212.682.1892, email@murrayfrank.com Schatz & Nobel, P.C. 330 Main Street, Hartford, CT, 06106 (voice) 800.797.5499, (fax) 860.493.6290, sn06106@AOL.com Schiffrin & Barroway LLP 3 Bala Plaza E, Bala Cynwyd, PA, 19004 (voice) 610.667.7706, (fax) 610.667.7056, info@sbclasslaw.com Stull, Stull & Brody (New York) 6 East 45th Street, New York, NY, 10017 (voice) 310.209.2468, (fax) 310.209.2087, SSBNY@aol.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 8

DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT
Class Action Complaint - Jury Trial Demanded
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 03/03/2005
Motion Of The Biogen Institutional Investor Group For Consolidation, Appointment Of Lead Plaintiff, And Approval Of Lead Plaintiff’s Selection Of Co-Lead Counsel And Liaison Counsel
Type: Motion		Date on the document: 05/02/2005

REFERENCE COMPLAINT

In Re: Biogen Idec, Inc. Securities Litigation

COURT: D. Massachusetts	DOCKET NUMBER: 05-CV-10400
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Reginald C. Lindsay
DATE FILED: 10/13/2006	SOURCE: Docket
CLASS PERIOD START: 2/18/2004	CLASS PERIOD END: 2/28/2005
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Consolidated and/or Amended
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Entwistle & Cappucci LLP 299 Park Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY, 10171 (voice) 212.894.7200, (fax) 212.894.7272, info@entwistle-law.com Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (New York, NY) One Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY, 10119-1065 (voice) 212.594.5300, (fax) , _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 2

DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
Consolidated Class Action Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 10/13/2006
Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 09/14/2007
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Declaration		Date on the document: 10/24/2007
US District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 8/8/2008

OTHER DOCUMENTS

Case Name and/or Number:
Type:		Date on the document:

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