Biogen Inc.
Company History
Biogen History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1978 in Geneva, Switzerland
When was Biogen founded?
Biogen was founded in 1978 in Geneva, Switzerland by Kenneth Murray, Phillip Sharp, Walter Gilbert, Charles Weissmann and Heinz Schaller, making it 48 years old.
- Founded
- 1978
- Founding place
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Founders
- Kenneth Murray, Phillip Sharp, Walter Gilbert, Charles Weissmann and Heinz Schaller
- Headquarters today
- Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Milestones documented
- 18 (1978–2026)
- Current CEO
- Christopher A. Viehbacher
- Acquisitions
- 8
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Biotechnology Geneva founded |
| 1980 | Alpha interferon cloned |
| 1983 | Initial public offering |
| 1985 | James Vincent restructures the company |
| 1996 | Avonex approved for multiple sclerosis |
| 2003 | Merger with IDEC Pharmaceuticals |
| 2004 | Tysabri approved, then withdrawn |
| 2013 | Tecfidera launch and full Tysabri rights |
| 2015 | Name returns to Biogen |
| 2016 | Spinraza approved for SMA |
| 2017 | Bioverativ spin-off |
| 2020 | Tecfidera patent loss |
| 2021 | Aduhelm accelerated approval |
| 2022 | Christopher Viehbacher becomes CEO |
| 2023 | Leqembi approval and Reata acquisition |
| 2024 | Aduhelm discontinued, HI-Bio acquired |
| 2025 | FY2025 revenue of $9.89 billion |
| 2026 | Apellis acquisition and new dosing approvals |
- Where was Biogen founded?
- Biogen was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1978. wikidata.org
- Who founded Biogen?
- Biogen was founded by Kenneth Murray, Phillip Sharp, Walter Gilbert, Charles Weissmann and Heinz Schaller.
- When did Biogen start?
- Biogen was founded in 1978.
- How old is Biogen?
- Biogen is 48 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Biogen began in 1978 as Biotechnology Geneva, set up in Switzerland by five academic molecular biologists: Walter Gilbert (Harvard), Phillip Sharp (MIT), Kenneth Murray (Edinburgh), Heinz Schaller (Heidelberg) and Charles Weissmann (Zurich). Weissmann's Zurich laboratory cloned human alpha interferon in 1980, and Murray and Schaller worked on producing hepatitis B antigens with recombinant DNA, work behind later hepatitis B vaccines. Gilbert, who won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, left Harvard to run the company. Licensing those discoveries to larger drugmakers, rather than selling its own drugs, is what kept Biogen going through the 1980s.
Founders
Kenneth Murray
Murray co-founded Biogen in 1978. In Edinburgh he and his colleagues used genetic engineering to produce hepatitis B virus antigens in bacteria, work that led to one of the first recombinant vaccines and to diagnostic tests. Royalties from the hepatitis B technology helped sustain Biogen through the 1980s, and Murray used his own share to set up the Darwin Trust of Edinburgh, which funds young scientists. He was knighted in 1993 and died in April 2013. Education: University of Birmingham. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Phillip Sharp
Sharp was one of Biogen's 1978 founders and served on the company's board for many years. His work on how genes are split and spliced underpins much of later RNA-based drug development, a field in which Biogen became a leader through its antisense alliance with Ionis. In 2002 Sharp also co-founded Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a developer of RNA interference medicines. Phillip Sharp was born in 1944 in Falmouth. Education: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Union Commonwealth University.
Walter Gilbert
Gilbert helped found Biogen in 1978 and left his Harvard post to serve as its chief executive from 1981 to 1984, an unusual move for a Nobel laureate at the time. As research spending and losses mounted, the board asked him to step aside and he returned to academic work. He later became an early advocate of the Human Genome Project and in 1992 co-founded Myriad Genetics. Walter Gilbert was born in 1932 in Boston. Education: Trinity College; University of Cambridge.
Charles Weissmann
Weissmann co-founded Biogen in 1978. In 1980 his Zurich laboratory reported cloning human leukocyte (alpha) interferon and producing it in bacteria, Biogen's first major scientific result. The technology was licensed to Schering-Plough and became Intron A, an early source of royalties. Weissmann later became a leading prion researcher, showing that mice lacking the prion protein gene are resistant to scrapie. Weissmann was born on October 14, 1931 and died on December 11, 2025. A Hungarian-Swiss molecular biologist, he is known for the first cloning and expression of interferon and for work on the molecular genetics of prion diseases. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Heinz Schaller
Schaller co-founded Biogen in 1978 with Gilbert, Sharp, Murray and Weissmann. At Heidelberg he turned to hepatitis B virus research in the late 1970s, sequenced the viral genome with Gilbert and Murray and contributed to the recombinant DNA work behind a widely used hepatitis B vaccine. He co-founded Heidelberg's Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH) in 1982, received the Robert Koch Medal in 2004, and with his wife Chica Schaller set up a foundation that funds young biomedical researchers. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Biotechnology Geneva founded
Walter Gilbert, Phillip Sharp, Kenneth Murray, Heinz Schaller and Charles Weissmann founded the company in Geneva, Switzerland as Biotechnology Geneva to turn recombinant DNA research into medicines.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAlpha interferon cloned
Charles Weissmann's Zurich laboratory cloned human alpha interferon and produced it in bacteria. The technology was licensed to Schering-Plough, which sold it as Intron A.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgInitial public offering
Biogen listed its shares during the first wave of biotechnology IPOs and expanded research in Europe and the United States.
Source: companieshistory.comJames Vincent restructures the company
With about $100 million of accumulated losses, Biogen hired James L. Vincent as CEO. He cut costs and relied on royalties from licensed interferon and hepatitis B technology.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAvonex approved for multiple sclerosis
The FDA approved Avonex (interferon beta-1a) for relapsing MS. It was Biogen's first drug sold under its own name and the start of its MS franchise.
Source: companieshistory.comMerger with IDEC Pharmaceuticals
Biogen merged with San Diego's IDEC Pharmaceuticals, maker of Rituxan with Genentech, in a deal valued at about $6.8 billion. The combined company took the name Biogen Idec.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgTysabri approved, then withdrawn
The FDA approved Tysabri (natalizumab) for MS in November 2004. It was withdrawn in February 2005 after cases of the brain infection PML and returned in 2006 with a risk-management program.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgTecfidera launch and full Tysabri rights
The FDA approved the oral MS drug Tecfidera in March 2013, and Biogen paid Elan $3.25 billion for full rights to Tysabri.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgName returns to Biogen
Biogen Idec shortened its name to Biogen in March 2015 to reflect its focus on neuroscience.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSpinraza approved for SMA
The FDA approved Spinraza (nusinersen), developed with Ionis, in December 2016 as the first treatment for spinal muscular atrophy. Its list price was $750,000 for the first year.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBioverativ spin-off
Biogen spun off its hemophilia business as Bioverativ in February 2017 to concentrate on neuroscience. Sanofi bought Bioverativ in 2018 for $11.6 billion.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgTecfidera patent loss
A US court invalidated a key Tecfidera patent in a challenge brought by Mylan, opening the US market to generic dimethyl fumarate. Biogen's revenue fell from $13.44 billion in 2020 to $10.98 billion in 2021.
Source: stockanalysis.comAduhelm accelerated approval
On June 7, 2021 the FDA granted accelerated approval to Aduhelm (aducanumab) for Alzheimer's disease despite mixed trial results. At $56,000 a year and with limited insurance coverage, the launch failed.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgChristopher Viehbacher becomes CEO
Former Sanofi CEO Christopher Viehbacher took over from Michel Vounatsos on November 14, 2022. Earlier that year Biogen agreed to pay $900 million to settle a False Claims Act kickback suit.
Source: justice.govLeqembi approval and Reata acquisition
Leqembi (lecanemab), partnered with Eisai, received full FDA approval in July 2023. In September Biogen completed its $7.3 billion acquisition of Reata, adding Skyclarys, the first approved Friedreich's ataxia drug.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAduhelm discontinued, HI-Bio acquired
Biogen discontinued Aduhelm in January 2024 to redirect resources to Leqembi, and in July completed the acquisition of Human Immunology Biosciences for $1.15 billion upfront, adding the kidney disease antibody felzartamab.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFY2025 revenue of $9.89 billion
Revenue rose 2.2% to $9.89 billion, with growth products reaching $3.3 billion and free cash flow of $2.1 billion. Biogen also announced a $2 billion investment in its Research Triangle Park manufacturing sites.
Source: sec.govApellis acquisition and new dosing approvals
The FDA approved a high-dose Spinraza regimen in March. Biogen completed its roughly $5.6 billion purchase of Apellis on May 14, and in July the FDA approved the Leqembi Iqlik autoinjector for starting treatment.
Source: biospace.comMajor Acquisitions
IDEC Pharmaceuticals
2003An all-stock merger valued at about $6.8 billion that combined Biogen's MS business with IDEC's oncology and immunology products, including Rituxan, marketed with Genentech.
Fumapharm AG
2006Bought the Swiss maker of the psoriasis drug Fumaderm and the oral fumarate BG-12, then being studied in multiple sclerosis.
Elan (Tysabri rights)
2013Paid Elan $3.25 billion for full ownership of Tysabri, which the two companies had shared.
Nightstar Therapeutics
2019Acquired the UK gene therapy company for $25.50 per share to build a pipeline for inherited retinal disorders.
Reata Pharmaceuticals
2023Bought Reata for $172.50 per share in cash to obtain Skyclarys, the first approved treatment for Friedreich's ataxia.
Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio)
2024Paid $1.15 billion upfront, with up to $650 million in milestones, for felzartamab, an anti-CD38 antibody for immune-mediated kidney and transplant diseases.
Alcyone Therapeutics
2025Acquired a developer of implantable devices for delivering antisense drugs into the spinal fluid.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals
2026Paid $41 per share in cash plus a contingent value right of up to $4 per share for Apellis, maker of Syfovre and Empaveli, completed May 14, 2026.
Keep researching Biogen
Biogen Company History FAQ
When and where was Biogen founded?
Biogen was founded in 1978 in Geneva, Switzerland as Biotechnology Geneva by five molecular biologists, including future Nobel laureates Walter Gilbert and Phillip Sharp. It later moved its headquarters to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
What was Biogen's first drug?
Avonex (interferon beta-1a), approved by the FDA in 1996 for relapsing multiple sclerosis, was the first drug Biogen sold under its own name. Before that it lived mainly on royalties from interferon and hepatitis B technology licensed to other companies.
What was Biogen Idec?
Biogen Idec was the name of the company formed when Biogen merged with San Diego's IDEC Pharmaceuticals in 2003. It returned to the name Biogen in March 2015.
Why was Tysabri withdrawn in 2005?
Tysabri was approved for MS in November 2004 but withdrawn in February 2005 after patients developed PML, a rare brain infection. It returned in 2006 with a risk-management program and remains one of Biogen's largest products.
Why did Biogen's revenue fall after 2019?
Revenue peaked at $14.38 billion in 2019. After a US court invalidated a key Tecfidera patent in 2020, generic competition drove revenue down to $9.84 billion by 2023. It was $9.89 billion in 2025.
What happened to Aduhelm?
Aduhelm received accelerated FDA approval for Alzheimer's disease in June 2021, but mixed trial data, a $56,000 launch price and Medicare's decision to cover it only in trials meant very few patients used it. Biogen discontinued it in January 2024.
What are Biogen's most recent milestones?
In 2026 the FDA approved a high-dose Spinraza regimen (March) and the Leqembi Iqlik autoinjector for starting Alzheimer's treatment (July), and Biogen completed its roughly $5.6 billion acquisition of Apellis on May 14.
When was Biogen founded?
Biogen was founded in 1977 in Geneva, Switzerland, by a "dream team" of renowned biologists, including Nobel Laureates Walter Gilbert and Phillip Sharp.
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