The US biotech giant enters Lithuania: it will contribute to the treatment of serious diseases and investment in the country

Offices open in the Baltic countries

The international company Biogen opened a new office in the center of Vilnius this week. According to Mikko Fernström, Biogen’s director for Lithuania, the opening of a branch in Vilnius is the first part of the company’s long-term commitment to Lithuania. Starting operations in Lithuania, Biogen is also opening its branches in other Baltic countries. Biogen Lietuva will work with the Latvian, Estonian and Finnish branches, who will work closely together.

“From a business point of view, Lithuania is our largest market among the Baltic countries. We see that there are good opportunities in Lithuania to conduct clinical research and invest in the healthcare system. The company values ​​the scientific level of doctors very highly. and Lithuanian researchers, so we see the potential to invest so that Lithuania can be part of the global tests we conduct.

Of course, we want to be closer to clients and patients, help them treat neurological diseases and develop new treatments, and we also want to be closer to potential partners. We come to Lithuania for a long period of time, we have long-term goals to create cooperation networks and take the brain health issue to the next level ”, says M. Fernström on the occasion of his visit to Lithuania.

Biogen is a world leader in the development and production of drugs for diseases such as multiple sclerosis or spinal muscular atrophy. According to the interlocutor, neurological diseases are a significant economic burden not only for patients, but also for an aging society, as they are one of the most common causes of disability in Europe.

“It just came to our knowledge then. The direct and indirect costs of brain disease are higher than those of cancer and cardiovascular disease combined. They account for around a third of all healthcare spending at the European level.

People with neurological diseases often need a lot of support and cannot fully participate in the job market. This, of course, comes at a great cost to society. Our goal is to reduce these costs with our treatment, helping patients to stay active longer so that they need less support from the health system, ”says Biogen Lietuva’s director.

Vilnius office will seek local partners

Biogen hopes to reduce this burden by seeking local partners between academia and startups.

“We will look for partners, start-ups, to develop digital solutions that contribute to the treatment and development of patients in the health system, for example, finding hospitals and doctors to carry out clinical trials. In this way, they would create a cooperative network and contribute to the early diagnosis of neurological diseases, so that patients can learn about the disease as soon as possible and receive the necessary treatment ”, says M. Fernström.

Biogen Lietuva became a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania and the Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry, however, according to the interlocutor, the company has not yet established new partnerships in Lithuania. However, he hinted that several potential partners were already interested in such an opportunity.

“We seek a broad partnership with academia, non-governmental organizations, start-ups and healthcare institutions to contribute to the improvement of brain health in Lithuania. This is an issue that requires public-private partnerships ”, says the director of Biogen Lietuva.

Clinical trials will attract investment to Lithuania

“With Invest in Lithuania, we discussed the opportunities Lithuania could offer to Biogen and what kind of cooperation we could create. We discussed our capabilities, the clinical trials, which will undoubtedly bring a lot of investment to the country ”, he added.

When asked to specify the possible investment amounts, the interlocutor assures that it is difficult to talk about it, because the investments will arrive in Lithuania in various forms.

“The investigations are free. Therefore, it is also a large investment in the country, because the drugs used in clinical trials are essentially free to patients and the health system. It is a great investment that also reaches the country through clinical trials ”, he gives an example.

The interlocutor has also not yet disclosed the investments of the developing company in Lithuania. It is too early to talk about investing in clinical trials, as no decisions are currently being made. The first phase of the investment has just started: a new office has been opened and 6 highly qualified doctors have been hired.

Looking for highly qualified employees

Biogen has more than 7,400 employees worldwide, the Vilnius office currently employs 6 specialists and the company expects to employ more people in the future.

“I would say that one of the key factors in increasing staffing is the approval of new products for patients. Then the volume of business and the number of activities increases. That, of course, requires human resources, ”explains Fernström.

Later, Biogen Lietuva plans to employ highly qualified medical personnel, people who work in the fields of trade and quality of medicines. It will also seek staff to work with doctors and all regulators. Another key item on Biogen’s to-do list is cost recovery.

The interviewer thanks the specialists working in Lithuania and does not think there are any problems finding and hiring them. As an example, he quotes neurologists working in Lithuania: “Currently, we pay a lot of attention to multiple sclerosis. He is treated by neurologists, and in Lithuania these specialists are extremely highly qualified. “

He hopes to start clinical trials next year

Last year, Biogen invested $ 2.3 billion in research. USD, conducted 170 clinical trials involving more than 30,000. patients. The Lithuanian unit is currently considering the possibility of conducting clinical trials with Lithuanian patients, which is expected to begin next year.

“Our goal is to involve Lithuanian hospitals, researchers and the healthcare system in world-class Biogen clinical trials. The level of clinics and clinical trials operating in Lithuania is very high, therefore I think it is possible to start trials in the near future.

We are investigating drugs for Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease and many other neurological diseases globally, ”says M. Fernström about the clinical trials planned in Lithuania.

According to him, Lithuanian patients with these specific diseases would have the opportunity to receive the latest treatment in the future, as some of these diseases currently have no available treatment.

“Our drugs for multiple sclerosis and spinal muscle atrophy are already available in Lithuania. We have treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, ophthalmology and acute neurology in the last stages of clinical trials or authorization. Once these drugs are approved in the European Union, we will work with the authorities to make them available in Lithuania as soon as possible, ”says Biogen Lietuva director.

He developed his business in Lithuania virtually

M. Fernström says that COVID-19 did not influence the establishment of a unit in Lithuania, because this decision was made much earlier than when the world was affected by a pandemic. It is true that we had to establish a Biogen office and employ employees remotely in Lithuania. The company did not have great challenges on a global scale either.

“First of all, our main objective was to guarantee the supply of medicines worldwide to those patients who take our medicines. We had to make sure that the logistics were in place, that the factories were running so that we could produce the products and deliver them to patients in different countries. We had no problem with that.

Of course, there have been changes in our daily operations. During a pandemic, we cannot meet with our clients, the doctors, because hospitals have closed their doors to focus solely on managing the pandemic and treating patients. We have to communicate with customers remotely, ”he says, adding that Biogen is not contributing to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine because the company is not working in this area.

Biogen was founded by Nobel Prize winners

Biogen’s total revenue for the third quarter was $ 3,376 million. USD, that is, 6 percent. less than 2019 during the same period. Biogen’s turnover in 2019 amounted to 14.4 billion. AMERICAN DOLLAR. The group’s net profit grew 31.6 percent last year. up to 5.89 billion. Dollars

One of the world’s first biotechnology companies, Biogen was founded in 1978. The company’s founders are Charles Weissmann, Heinz Schaller, Kenneth Murray, and Nobel laureates Walter Gilbert and Phillip Sharp.

Biogen products are sold in 102 countries around the world, with production in the US state of Pennsylvania and Switzerland.

Today, Biogen has the largest portfolio of multiple sclerosis drugs, launched the first approved drug for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy and targets multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, neuromuscular and movement disorders, ophthalmology and neurology, ophthalmology, immunology. advanced research programs.