Evidently, he doesn't want much Tysabri sold anymore...it would be interesting to know what evidence he has to base his remarks on...

Anyone check with the SEC to see if he has filed to sell any large chunks of Biogen stock in the last 45 days?

He is likely to have more evidence then anyone else would.

Someone on another forum mentioned execs selling off shares recently, but there are always a lot of rumors floating around (that are untrue!).

They have always warned that they didn't have any idea whether additional PML cases would surface over time, so perhaps this is just the same old message.

Cherie

Stocks happen to be my cup of tea....take a look:

http://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/875045.htm

They've been selling consistantly making millions.

Infact; Institutional ownership is huge, many making millions off this company and insiders made 49 different trades just in the past 3 months!

http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/Holdings.a...&selected=BIIB

EDIT: Chart: They must have known back in December that they had a bad feeling about it. Granted, the market has been bad, but strong companies are surviving. They've lost over $30 a share since Dec 07.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=BIIB

Sorry, they spilt 2 for 1 in December....just keeping with truth.....

I am and always have been a big advocate for Tysabri. My comment was tongue in cheek...any executive, member of the board of directors must by law file with the SEC their intent at least 45 days in advance of selling stock in their company...

As I originally wanted to post, and now will, just because Mr Mullen is the CEO doesn't mean he knows everything that is going on within the company.

CEOs are sometimes the last to know about negative things that are going on within their company, but are still responsible for what happens on their watch.

I still wonder what motivates CEOs to say some of the things they say in public....afterall, there have been NO cases of PML and Tysabri since it's re-release. If he is going to make blanket statements like that then he should at least back it up with data. This is irresponsible on his part and/or the journalist reporting it if the "whole story" was not reported.

As is more likely the case, we, the public and the patients, will never know the whole story.

James Mullen knows what needs to be known within Biogen and especially with Tysabri. Although there are no additional cases of PML that have been reported, that doesn't mean that there hasn't been. Rumours abound that other issues with Tysabri are brewing but until they are confirmed I will not say what they are.

Bottom line...I don't now and never have trusted what Biogen has told us from the beginning about Tysabri. I just hope that the MS patients that are using it don't end up with more problems that they already have with the disease.

Harry

Harry

Then why bother posting anything?

It's unsubstantiated posts like this that get the rumormongers going. If you have something substantial to post then post it...don't post something -- gee I heard...and let it go unsupported. Anyone can do that. I could post that I overheard two neurologists talking about a patient in the doctor's lounge yada yada yada and it would be worthless gossip.

The whole point of the TOUCH program is to track and report PML. If you think for one minute that there has been a case of PML and Tysabri unreported, then I do believe you are WRONG. And that, Harry, is something you can take to the bank and cash. I worked with the FDA and the RiskMAP committee to make sure the tracking procedure works...if you have a problem with the system you should be taking it up with the committee...not making innuendo here.

This post of yours is inflammatory and totally unnecessary, in my opinion. In other words, I disagree with your comments. I can back mine up with names, dates, and reports. Can you? I didn't think so.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion Cheryl.

I can remember when Tysabri was first making the headlines a few years ago and I and a few other people on the net were making similar comments about the drug. I was called some very nasty names for even daring to suggest that there were some possible problems with it. How dare I infer, without documentation, this drug might be dangerous?! Almost daily I was attacked.

So what happens...Tysabri gets pulled from the market because of PML and all the nasty name calling comes to an abrupt halt! And those who had targeted me for months suddenly disappeared from the forums.

Now I know it is hard for Tysabri cheerleaders to hear this kind of concern but do you think that I enjoy stating this kind of information? My concern here is the possibility that many MS patients may end up suffering even more from their disease if what I hear about the drug materializes. Because of my following MS for decades, I have seen far too many people suffer from this disease too often because the drug companies involved with their medications don't tell us the "con" side of them.

In the many years that I have followed MS, I have made a number of contacts in this area and end up getting bits and pieces of information. You say that I am irresponsible for making unproven comments about what I hear but what about the drug companies that simply don't tell us about the very known problems that they keep from the public?

Visit several of the MS websites out there, Cheryl, and you just may read about some of the things that I refer to. You say that my post was inflammatory and unnecessary...don't forget, there are always two sides to every story and I sometimes tell the side that some people don't like to hear.

Harry

For the record:

Harry Z does not have MS

Harry Z was married and his wife had MS. She died. She never took Tysabri.

Harry Z has never had to make a choice as to how he would treat HIS MS.

Harry Z comes in with rumor-mongering, no data, spreading the spew from Biogen's Jim Mullen, someone who has a large stake in seeing Tysabri fail.

Biogen Idec owns AVONEX. Biogen Idec did NOT develop Tysabri.

Elan developed Tysabri. Because they are an Irish drug company, they had to have an American company to partner with during the process of getting Tysabri approved. Biogen jumped at the chance. WHY? Because they saw what it could do. They had something BIG to lose. AVONEX.

Biogen Idec was the company that insisted that a combination trial be run so they could have their pie and eat it too, hence the Tysabri/Avonex debacle.

NO MS PATIENT HAS DIED (IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS IT TOOK TO DEVELOP THIS DRUG) FROM PML.

THERE HAVE BEEN NO CASES OF PML SINCE THE DRUG WAS RETURNED TO MARKET UNDER THE TOUCH PROGRAM.

People with MS will be what drives this drug. No amount of marketing will do it. When someone gets out of their wheelchair and walks for the first time in years, when a mother can run with her children again, when a father gets to walk his daughter down the aisle, when someone can see again, when children no longer have to care for their affected parents, the word spreads further. ++100,000 patients by 2010.

Tysabri works. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me. It works for a lot of other people. After suffering from relapse after relapse, almost quarterly since being diagnosed in 2004, I haven't had a relapse since May 25th, 2007. I have regained my vision, my fatigue has lessened, my spasticity has lessened, I had no new lesions, no enhancing lesions and many of my old lesions were smaller or GONE. I can see a 14 MM LESION shrinking. I had a 12 MM lesion that is gone. My brain looked like a constellation. Now it looks like what you can see in the city, only a few stars in the sky. I fully expect my next MRI will be even better. I have had NO side effects, NO concerns to report and I have NEVER looked back and missed those relapses, that increasing progression that was robbing me of everything I held dear.

No one is forced to take Tysabri. It's a CHOICE. You can inject water if you so choose. Pick your own tool. Don't try to "PROTECT" me from my choice. I'm aware of risk/benefit ratios for each and every choice I make.

I'll take Tysabri, and faithfully send my thank you card every month to Ted Yednock and his team, letting them know that for THIS person with MS, Tysabri works.

I am done with this thread.

Not always true Cheryl...sorry ....If a CEO or other exec wants to dump hundreds of thousands, or millions of shares, they must file their intent as you describe (Usually they will include in that statement what price they will sell at....usually at a much higher price than is currenly being quoted). However; they can sell at anytime in small batches, but it must be reported to the SEC the day they do it. When an Exec sells shares and then the investors find out, it usually causes the investors to freak out and dump what they have, all in the name of fear.

Brings the price down, and then everyone starts jumping in again....its a visious circle.

I'm evaluating the company and its stock, not Ty....From my research, Ty is the best bet for those with confirmed MS...and if I were to get such a dx, I'd be on the Ty train myself. It dosen't stop the Execs from making millions off of the patients as you can see by the links I posted. This would hold true for many companies tho, not just BIIB. (Biogen)

PS: Also note that Mullins is not one who sells frequently; a good sign in any company. They know whats going on with their products, the question is do they believe in them, dispite the knowledge. Every drug has side effects; as consumers we have to weigh those out and make the right choice for ourselves The CEOs have to come forword with pertinent information, even if its scary, in order to protect the company from suits. I'd guess thats what was behind this statement.

I read that article about Tysabri a couple of days ago. Interesting, the street did not react to those comments. BIIB or ELN did not take big hits(other than the market in general). I think the market anticipates a case of PML, because the original black box warning stated a 1 in 1000 chance.

Also ,I think there was alot of (insider) selling activity in BIIB the first part of the year because of a possible buy out of BIIB, which didn't happen.

I do agree that it was not one of the smartest statements to make, I hope he didn't have any reason to throw out that warning.

My earnest hope is that Tysabri continues to be the drug that so many people are having great sucess with!! We don't want any bad news!!!