Senior Citizens and Individuals with Disabilities Now Have Increased Access
to Leading Multiple Sclerosis Therapy
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Biogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGEN) announced that Medicare will provide coverage for
multiple sclerosis patients treated with AVONEX as part of physician services.
The action by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implements a
law passed by Congress to restore Medicare coverage for certain injectable
prescription medicines.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990824/BIOLOGO )
James Mullen, President and CEO of Biogen said, "Members of Congress and
this Administration can take pride in helping expand Medicare drug coverage
for MS patients."
About Biogen
Biogen, Inc., winner of the U.S. National Medal of Technology, is a
biopharmaceutical 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 worldwide
sales of AVONEX(R) (Interferon beta-1a) for treatment of relapsing forms of
multiple sclerosis, and from the worldwide sales by licensees of a number of
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.
Notes to Editors:
In December 2000, Congress clarified and expanded Medicare coverage of
drugs and biologics by adding a provision (Section 112) to the Benefits
Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA). This provision reversed an
August 1997 program memorandum by CMS, which resulted in the termination of
Medicare coverage for AVONEX and had an adverse impact on coverage for other
injectable therapies. Medicare covered AVONEX when it was first approved in
the U.S. in 1996 until the 1997 program memorandum.
AVONEX is given once a week as an intramuscular injection. Intramuscular
drugs have traditionally been covered by Medicare.
The action by CMS implements the BIPA provision on injectable drugs.
Individuals seeking additional information may go to the CMS website at
http://cms.hhs.gov/media/
Media Contact:
Tim Hunt David Foster
Director, Public Affairs Vice President, Government Relations
Biogen, Inc. Biogen, Inc.
617-914-6524 202-434-7413
Investor Contact:
Elizabeth Woo
Director, Investor Relations
Biogen, Inc.
617-679-2822
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 Contact: Tim Hunt, Director, Public
Affairs, +1-617-914-6524, or David Foster, Vice President,
Government Relations, +1-202-434-7413, or Investor Contact:
Elizabeth Woo, Director, Investor Relations, +1-617-679-2822, all
of Biogen, Inc.
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