CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Biogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGEN)
today announced that it has established the "Biogen Legacy Fund" to provide
need-based scholarships for children who lost a parent during the tragic
events of September 11, 2001. The fund was established with a $1 million
corporate contribution from Biogen and will benefit the "Families of Freedom
Scholarship Fund(TM)."
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990824/BIOLOGO )
Biogen's President and CEO, James C. Mullen, announced the donation when
he addressed the company's employees at a meeting today in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, where the company is headquartered. The meeting was video
broadcast to Biogen employees worldwide. Joining Mr. Mullen for the
announcement was William C. Nelsen, President of the Citizens' Scholarship
Foundation(R) of America (CSFA), one of the founding organizations of the
"Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund(TM)."
Speaking to more than one thousand of the company's employees, Mr. Mullen
said, "We can't ease the heartache of the losses or undo the horror of that
tragic day. But we can make a contribution on behalf of those who died, by
furthering their lives' greatest cause: their children. In that spirit, we
established the Biogen Legacy Fund, which we will transfer to the 'Families of
Freedom Scholarship Fund(TM)'."
Mullen explained that CSFA will administer Biogen's contribution, which
will provide at least five $20,000 scholarships each year for the next 18
years -- thus providing educational opportunities even for some of the infant
children of those who lost their lives to the terrorist attacks.
Accepting the contribution, CSFA President Nelsen said, "We are grateful
to Biogen and so many individuals and companies who have contributed to the
Fund. The 'Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund' honors the memories of the
victims of the attack on America by providing educational assistance for their
children and spouses. We at CSFA have pledged that 100 percent of all
contributions to the Fund will support undergraduate education at an
accredited, U.S.-based college, university, or vocational/technical school,
for the victims' family members, throughout the life of the program. The
program will extend to currently enrolled undergraduate students, as well as
future students for the life of the Fund."
Former President Bill Clinton and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole
are spearheading a scholarship fund campaign for the "Families of Freedom
Scholarship Fund(TM)," which will be coordinated and administered by CSFA, the
nation's largest private sector scholarship and educational support
organization, based in St. Peter and Minneapolis, MN. (For more information
visit http://www.familiesoffreedom.org or http://www.csfa.org)
About Biogen, Inc.
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 international sales
of AVONEX(R) (Interferon beta 1-a) for treatment of relapsing forms of
multiple sclerosis, 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.
About Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America (CSFA)
CSFA is the nation's largest private sector scholarship and educational
support organization. It carries out its mission of expanding access to
educational opportunities and encouraging academic achievement through its
Dollars for Scholars, Scholarship Management Services and ScholarShop
programs. Headquartered in Minneapolis and St. Peter, MN, CSFA has distributed
over $776.2 million to more than 748,000 students through its scholarship and
other support programs since its founding in 1958. The Wall Street Journal's
Smart Money Magazine has ranked CSFA as one of the best-run, most efficient
nonprofits for the past four years in a row. For more information please visit
http://www.csfa.org and http://www.familiesoffreedom.org
Media Contact:
Kathleen O'Donnell
Associate Director, Public Affairs
Biogen, Inc.
Tel: (617) 679-2837
Investment Community Contact:
Elizabeth Woo
Associate Director, Investor Relations
Biogen, Inc.
Tel: (617) 679-2822
SOURCE Biogen, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.biogen.com.
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/101550.html
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
CONTACT:
Media: Kathleen O'Donnell, Associate
Director, Public Affairs, +1-617-679-2837, or Investors:
Elizabeth Woo, Associate Director, Investor Relations,
+1-617-679-2822, both of Biogen, Inc.
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