Biogen chips in $10M after outbreak
The biotech giant Biogen, now linked to 100 cases of coronavirus in Massachusetts, is kicking in $10 million to “support the global response” to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cambridge-based company announced Monday the money from its foundation will go mainly to nonprofit organizations on the front lines of the crisis. The company is also giving medical equipment and supplies to Partners HealthCare in Massachusetts. The company will also assist Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“The funds will be used to address immediate critical needs, with the majority of donations going to support nonprofit organizations in the U.S., including Massachusetts and North Carolina, Italy and in other impacted countries worldwide,” the company said in a statement sent to the Herald.
Biogen’s gathering for company managers held at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel on Feb. 26 and 27 proved to be the flashpoint in the state’s battle with coronavirus, according to state health officials.
The daily updates from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health includes the tally of cases linked to Biogen. As of Monday, that count was at 100 traced back to “Biogen and household contacts.”
As the Herald reported, about 175 Biogen managers coming from all over the world — “Yes, from Italy,” a company spokesman confirmed — gathered for the late-February confab. That meeting resulted in cases of coronavirus spreading in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana and Florida.
The Boston Marriott Long Wharf also closed “in the interest of public health,” the hotel said in a statement.
Biogen CEO Michael Vounatsos, who has declined through spokesmen multiple requests for interviews made by the Herald last week, said in Monday’s statement: “It is vital that we act immediately to support those who are on the front lines of caring for the health and well-being in all communities affected around the world.
“Our hope,” he added, “is that this commitment will support these courageous organizations, and the vulnerable, during this unprecedented time.”