Biogen Idec asks shareholders to reject Icahn's nominees on June 3

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., April 27 - Biogen Idec Inc. said it began mailing proxy materials encouraging shareholders to re-elect the company's directors at the annual meeting on June 3.

Shareholders are asked to reject the slate of dissident nominees put forth by Carl Icahn and to disregard any gold proxy card sent by the Icahn entities, according to a Biogen news release.

Biogen chairman Bruce R. Ross and chief executive officer James C. Mullen, in a letter to shareholders, noted the current board's "solid track record of generating strong financial and operational performance" and its "prudent plan to continue delivering value for shareholders."

In February, Icahn Partners LP and some of its affiliates nominated Alexander J. Denner, Richard C. Mulligan, Thomas J. Deuel and David Sidransky for election to Biogen's board at the Cambridge, Mass., pharmaceutical company's 2009 annual meeting.

Denner is managing director of entities affiliated with Icahn, including Icahn Partners.

Mulligan is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard Gene Therapy Initiative.

Deuel is a professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School and was the director of the division of molecular oncology at the Scripps Research Institute.

Sidransky is the director of the head and neck cancer research division at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

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