CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Biogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGEN) 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 at
http://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 at http://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
SOURCE Biogen, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.biogen.com.
Photo Notes:
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
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/gh/cnoc/comp/101550.html
CONTACT:
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
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