Biogen and MIT Establish Toxicology Fellowship Pro

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Tuesday March 26, 10:32 am Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Biogen, Inc.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Biogen and MIT Establish Toxicology Fellowship Program CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 26 /CNW/ -- Biogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGEN - News) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Biological Engineering Division announced today that they have established a fellowship program designed to train scientists for careers in the biotechnology industry, with special emphasis on the area of toxicology. (Photo:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990824/BIOLOGO ) Under the program, two MIT doctoral candidates will be selected each year as Biogen Fellows. Candidates must have completed required courses and passed the written doctoral examination in toxicology or bioengineering. In addition to their academic training at MIT, the fellows will participate in a customized internship at Biogen. Biogen will contribute $50,000 annually for the fellowships, which will last two to three years. James D. Green, Ph.D., Vice President of Preclinical and Clinical Development Sciences at Biogen, and Professors Steven R. Tannenbaum and Douglas Lauffenburger, Co-Directors of MIT's Biological Engineering Division, will oversee the program. Dr. Green said, "Biogen is always looking to attract the best minds, and this fellowship is an exciting way to tap into the talents of outstanding young scientists at MIT. This unique program will also enable promising doctoral students to expand their career development opportunities by having real-life experience at an established, dynamic biotechnology company." Dr. Tannenbaum, Underwood-Prescott Professor of Toxicology said, "This fellowship provides future leaders of the biotechnology industry with training in the science of drug development and exposure to the operations of a first- rate company. This is another step in the long tradition of cooperation between MIT and various industries." Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- a coeducational, privately endowed research university -- is dedicated to advancing knowledge and educating students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century. The Institute has more than 900 faculty and nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and is organized into five Schools -- Architecture and Planning, Engineering, Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Management, and Science -- and the Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology. The Biological Engineering Division at MIT was formed in 1998 with departmental status in the School of Engineering. Its mission is to foster education and research at the interface of engineering with modern biology, with emphasis on application to bioengineering, toxicology and pharmacology. Biogen, Inc., winner of the U.S. National Medal of Technology, is a biotechnology company principally engaged in discovering and developing drugs for human healthcare through genetic engineering. Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, the Company's revenues are generated from U.S. and European sales of AVONEX(R) (Interferon beta-1a) for treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, (Please see full prescribing information athttp://www.avonex.com.), and from the worldwide sales by licensees of a number of products, including alpha interferon and hepatitis B vaccines and diagnostic products. Biogen's research and development activities are focused on novel products to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, cancer, fibrosis and congestive heart failure. The Company maintains active clinical research programs in protein therapeutics, small molecules, genomics and gene therapy. For copies of press releases and additional information about the Company, please consult Biogen's homepage on the World Wide Web athttp://www.biogen.com. -- Media Contacts: -- Amy Brockelman -- Manager, Public Affairs -- Biogen, Inc. -- Tel: (617) 679-3860 -- Elizabeth Thomson -- MIT News Office -- Tel: (617) 258-5402 -- Investment Community Contact: -- Christina Dillon -- Manager, Investor Relations -- Biogen, Inc. -- Tel: (617) 679-2521 -- /Company News On-Call: -- http://www.prnewswire.com/gh/cnoc/comp/101550.html/ -- /Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990824/BIOLOGO -- AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org -- PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840/ -- /Web site: http://www.biogen.com For further information Media Contacts: Amy Brockelman, Manager, Public Affairs of Biogen, Inc., +1-617-679-3860 or Elizabeth Thomson of MIT News Office, +1-617-258-5402 or Investment Community Contact: Christina Dillon, Manager, Investor Relations of Biogen, Inc., +1-617-679-2521