BIOGEN APPOINTS SYLVIE GRéGOIRE, Pharm. D.,EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, TECHNICAL OPERATIONS

Biogen, Inc. (NASDAQ/BGEN) today announced that Sylvie Grégoire, Pharm. D., has been appointed Executive Vice President, Technical Operations. Dr. Grégoire reports to James C. Mullen, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Grégoire was most recently Biogen’s Vice President of Manufacturing. Under her leadership, Biogen has expanded its manufacturing capacity, strategically anticipating future needs. A new large-scale manufacturing facility in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park is scheduled to be operational in 2002, making it one of the largest cell culture manufacturing facilities in the world. Biogen also is preparing to begin construction on a global manufacturing facility in Denmark.

In her position as Executive Vice President of Technical Operations, Dr. Grégoire’s specific global functional areas of responsibility include manufacturing, manufacturing sciences, engineering, product development and quality.

Joining Biogen in 1995 as Director, Regulatory Affairs-Europe, Dr. Grégoire subsequently held positions of increasing responsibility in the company including Vice President, Regulatory Affairs.

Dr. Grégoire has more than 15 years of international and U.S. experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Her career has included positions in manufacturing, regulatory affairs, program management, clinical research and clinical pharmacology for new drug development. Prior to joining Biogen, she was with Merck and Co. in various positions in the U.S. and abroad.

Mr. Mullen said, “In addition to Sylvie’s multifunctional experience in the industry, her exceptional leadership was demonstrated in each of her positions at Biogen. During her tenure, Biogen has been at the forefront in manufacturing capacity, capability and leadership. I am pleased to promote her to this new position and confident that she will bring to Biogen’s executive management team the vision and critical strengths that will help to drive us to the next level of excellence.”

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® (Interferon beta-1a) 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