After its conference led to an outbreak, Biogen pledges $10M toward coronavirus efforts
After a company conference in Boston led to an outbreak of coronavirus cases across multiple states, biotechnology company Biogen will give $10 million toward efforts to fight COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The money will come from the Biogen Foundation, and will be put toward expanding testing options, training health workers and increasing access to essential items like food, the company said in a release.
One hundred of the 197 coronavirus cases in Massachusetts are now linked to a Biogen conference that was held in Boston in the last week of February. The outbreak led that state to declare a state of emergency.
In North Carolina, seven of Wake County’s 15 confirmed COVID-19 cases are related to people that attended the Biogen conference. The conference has become a symbol of the danger of holding large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of those infected went on to show symptoms at Biogen’s Research Triangle Park office, early-voting locations and restaurants across the Triangle, The News & Observer previously reported. Biogen is a major biotechnology company in the Triangle, employing around 1,400 people in RTP.
Biogen’s presence here goes back decades. The company develops drugs for people who have serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, and focuses heavily on people with multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease. Worldwide, its drugs bring in about $14 billion in sales, and the company employs around 7,500 people.
At its RTP campus, the company houses teams for manufacturing, quality control, laboratories, business administration and a patient call center. Most of its employees have been working from home since the outbreak, save for some lab employees that have been deemed essential.
A majority of Biogen’s donations will go to nonprofit organizations in the U.S., including ones based in North Carolina and Massachusetts, the company said.
A spokeswoman for the company said nonprofits receiving money included the CDC foundation, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, the Greater Boston Area Food Bank and the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Disaster Medicine, among others.
“We are deeply affected by the impact of COVID-19 globally and we understand the critical importance of access to testing and other materials to support healthcare providers,” Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos said in a statement.
“It is vital that we act immediately to support those who are on the front lines caring for the health and well-being in all communities affected around the world. Our hope is that this commitment will support these courageous organizations, and the vulnerable, during this unprecedented time.”
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
