Biogen Announces Two New Nominees for Election to Board of
Directors
Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) today announced the nomination of Maria
C. Freire, Ph.D. and William D. Jones to stand for election to the
company’s board of directors at its 2021 annual meeting of
stockholders, scheduled for June 2, 2021. Additionally, Robert W.
Pangia, who has served on the board since 1997 and is Chair of the
Compensation and Management Development Committee, will retire from
the company’s board this year, effective at the annual meeting of
stockholders.
Dr. Freire is President and Executive Director and member of the
board of directors of the Foundation for the National Institutes of
Health, a nonprofit organization committed to accelerating
biomedical research and advancing breakthrough discoveries to fight
critical diseases. Mr. Jones is the President and Chief Executive
Officer and a director of CityLink Investment Corporation, a
commercial real estate investment and development services firm
that has earned national acclaim for developing complex private and
public urban projects.
“Our board believes ensuring diverse perspectives, including a
mix of skills, experience and backgrounds, is key to representing
the interests of stockholders effectively,” said Stelios
Papadopoulos, Ph.D., Biogen’s Chairman.
Dr. Papadopoulos continued, “On behalf of the board of directors
and Biogen, I would like to thank Bob Pangia for his long-standing
service. His active engagement, expertise and wise counsel have
been invaluable in our efforts to serve the best interests of all
of Biogen’s stakeholders. We wish him the best for the future.”
“I am pleased by the nomination of Maria and William. I look
forward to the added fresh perspectives they will provide and
working with them to optimize Biogen’s capital allocation for the
benefit of all stockholders,” stated Alexander J. Denner, Ph.D.,
Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee. “With their
nomination, we have taken another important step in the refreshment
and diversification of the board.”
“We are excited to announce these nominations for election to
Biogen’s board at an important time at Biogen,” said Michel
Vounatsos, Biogen’s Chief Executive Officer. “Maria and William
have diverse backgrounds spanning medical research,
pharmaceuticals, business, not-for profit boards and public health.
Their breadth of experience will be instrumental in our mission to
discover, develop and deliver worldwide innovative therapies for
people living with serious neurological and neurodegenerative
diseases.”
Dr. Freire and Mr. Jones are being nominated at the 2021 annual
meeting of stockholders along with the existing 11 directors, who
will stand for re-election.
About Maria C. FreireSince November 2012 Dr.
Freire has served as President and Executive Director and as a
member of the board of directors of the Foundation for the National
Institutes of Health. From March 2008 to November 2012 she served
as President and as a member of the board of directors of the
Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, which supports biomedical
research. Prior to this, Dr. Freire served as President and Chief
Executive Officer of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development
from 2001 to 2008 and Director of the Office of Technology Transfer
at the National Institutes of Health from 1995 to 2001.
Dr. Freire also serves as a director of Alexandria Real Estate
Equities, Inc., a publicly held urban office real estate investment
trust uniquely focused on collaborative life science and technology
campuses, and Exelixis, Inc., a drug discovery and development
company. She has served on the boards of numerous national and
international organizations, including the Science Board of the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization
Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public
Health and the United Nations Secretary General’s High Level Panel
on Access to Medicines.
Dr. Freire holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of
Virginia and a B.S. from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
in Lima, Peru.
About William D. JonesMr. Jones has been the
President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of CityLink
Investment Corporation, a commercial real estate investment and
development services firm, since 1994. From 2001 through 2018 Mr.
Jones was the President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of
City Scene Management Company, a real estate management company.
From 1989 to 1993 Mr. Jones served as General Manager/Senior Asset
Manager and Investment Manager with certain real estate
subsidiaries of The Prudential. Previously, he served as a San
Diego City Council member and as Deputy Mayor of San Diego.
Mr. Jones is the Lead Independent Director and Corporate
Governance Chair for Sempra Energy, an energy infrastructure
company. Mr. Jones is a director and, in some cases, Board Chair of
certain funds under management by the Capital Group and Capital
Group Private Client Services. He is an NACD Board Leadership
Fellow. Mr. Jones is a trustee of the University of California San
Diego Foundation and its Investment Committee and the Real Estate
Advisory Council. Mr. Jones has extensive experience as a real
estate developer in San Diego, where he built the City Heights
Urban Village, an award-winning redevelopment project.
Mr. Jones earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a
B.A. in Economics from the University of San Diego.About
BiogenAt Biogen, our mission is clear: we are pioneers in
neuroscience. Biogen discovers, develops and delivers worldwide
innovative therapies for people living with serious neurological
and neurodegenerative diseases as well as related therapeutic
adjacencies. One of the world’s first global biotechnology
companies, Biogen was founded in 1978 by Charles Weissmann, Heinz
Schaller, Kenneth Murray and Nobel Prize winners Walter Gilbert and
Phillip Sharp. Today Biogen has the leading portfolio of medicines
to treat multiple sclerosis, has introduced the first approved
treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, commercializes biosimilars
of advanced biologics and is focused on advancing research programs
in multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology, Alzheimer’s disease and
dementia, neuromuscular disorders, movement disorders,
ophthalmology, neuropsychiatry, immunology, acute neurology and
neuropathic pain.
We routinely post information that may be important to investors
on our website at www.biogen.com. To learn more, please visit
www.biogen.com and follow us on social media – Twitter,
LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube.
Additional Information and Where to Find
ItBiogen, its directors and certain of its executive
officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of
proxies from stockholders in connection with the matters to be
considered at Biogen’s 2021 annual meeting of stockholders. Biogen
intends to file a proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with such
solicitation of proxies from stockholders. STOCKHOLDERS ARE
STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ SUCH PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES
AVAILABLE AS IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Information
regarding ownership of Biogen stock and other securities by Biogen
directors and executive officers is included in their SEC filings
on Forms 3, 4 and 5, which can be found through the Biogen website
(www.biogen.com) in the section “Investors” or through the SEC’s
website at www.sec.gov. Additional information about Biogen’s
directors and executive officers and their interests is set forth
in Biogen’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on February 3,
2021, and Biogen’s proxy statement for its 2020 annual meeting of
stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 20, 2020, and
in Biogen’s other SEC filings, which can be found through Biogen’s
website (www.biogen.com) in the section “Investors” or through the
SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. More detailed and updated information
regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct
or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be
set forth in the proxy statement and other materials to be filed
with the SEC in connection with Biogen’s 2021 annual meeting of
stockholders. Stockholders will be able to obtain any proxy
statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement and
other documents filed by Biogen with the SEC for no charge at the
SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available at no
charge at Biogen’s website at www.biogen.com.
Biogen Safe HarborThis news release contains
forward-looking statements, made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
including statements relating to our business activities; our
strategy and plans; the potential of our commercial business and
pipeline programs; capital allocation and investment strategy; the
potential election of Dr. Freire and Mr. Jones to the Biogen Board
of Directors; the potential expansion of the Biogen Board of
Directors at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders; and the
expected benefits from the potential election to the Biogen Board
of Directors of Dr. Freire and Mr. Jones. These forward-looking
statements may be accompanied by words such as “aim,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “except,” “forecast,” “intend,”
“may,” “plan,” “potential,” “possible,” “will,” “would” and other
words and terms of similar meaning. You should not place undue
reliance on these statements.
These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in
such statements, including, without limitation: our dependence on
sales from our products; difficulties in obtaining and maintaining
adequate coverage, pricing and reimbursement for our products;
failure to protect and enforce our data, intellectual property and
other proprietary rights and uncertainties relating to intellectual
property claims and challenges; uncertainty of long-term success in
developing, licensing or acquiring other product candidates or
additional indications for existing products; failure to compete
effectively due to significant product competition in the markets
for our products; failure to successfully execute or realize the
anticipated benefits of our growth and strategic initiatives; the
risk that positive results in a clinical trial may not be
replicated in subsequent or confirmatory trials or success in early
stage clinical trials may not be predictive of results in later
stage or large scale clinical trials or trials in other potential
indications; the occurrence of adverse safety events; delay in
approval of our drug candidates; product liability claims; third
party collaboration risks; and direct and indirect impacts of the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations
and financial condition. The foregoing sets forth many, but not
all, of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from
our expectations in any forward-looking statement. Investors should
consider this cautionary statement as well as the risk factors
identified in our most recent annual or quarterly report and in
other reports we have filed with the SEC. These statements are
based on our current beliefs and expectations and speak only as of
the date of this news release. We do not undertake any obligation
to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
BIOGEN MEDIA CONTACT: |
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BIOGEN INVESTOR CONTACT: |
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David CaouetteBiogen Inc.Tel: (781) 464-3260 |
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Mike Hencke Biogen Inc.Tel: (781) 464-2442 |
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