I joined Biogen as President and CEO to lead a purpose-driven company that is focused on patients and willing to tackle the healthcare challenges from which others have shied away. Since joining I have met many people living with the diseases that we are addressing, underscoring why our work matters and how many people are counting on our medicines. I have also met countless truth-seeking, dedicated and compassionate employees who are advancing our pipeline of potential novel therapies — along with those working to tackle the inequities prevalent in broader society and the healthcare ecosystem, addressing the connection between human health and the environment, and continuing to show how our culture of caring deeply extends beyond our walls.
For decades, Biogen has been committed to corporate responsibility and, every day, we are working diligently to build upon our long-held foundation of responding appropriately to emerging stakeholder expectations and industry trends to deliver benefits for patients and communities.
In 2022, we took meaningful action to expand access to our treatments, provide medicines to those in need, and increase our organizational understanding of inequities faced by people on their health journey.
We advanced our goal to increase representation of diverse populations in our clinical trials and we have entered new markets with SPRINRAZA® (nusinersen), which is now available in 69 countries, including 19 classified as low- to middle-income. We are also dedicated to engaging medical experts and patent advocacy groups globally to raise cultural competency to meet the varied needs of all patients.
We have continued to champion our sustainability goals and reduce our environmental impact, through plans to mitigate waste, water and energy consumption. In the last year alone, 81% of Biogen labs achieved My Green Lab certification, recognized by the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign for setting the standard for best practices in laboratory sustainability. Labs are some of the most resource-intensive spaces, and by focusing on labs, we are contributing to the decarbonization of healthcare.
Our flagship STEM education program, the Community Lab, has inspired a love of science for students over the last 20 years. It began as an experiment to bring hands-on science to those who lived in Biogen’s backyard, but has grown, enriching the lives of more than 62,000 students in over 30 countries. This and other programs supported by the Biogen Foundation have helped hundreds of thousands of people around the world.
Our employees have driven our progress in all areas, from helping patients access our therapies to inspiring the next generation of scientists. We have long prioritized diversity, equity and inclusion not only as a moral imperative, but as a competitive strength. At the end of 2022, 47.4% of Director+ positions were held by women and 30.4% of Manager+ positions in the U.S. were held by ethnic or racial minorities. As we seek to engage the world’s brightest minds to tackle complex scientific and social challenges, having diversity of backgrounds, experiences and thoughts will only strengthen us as an organization.
This is a dynamic time in the healthcare sector, with stakeholder expectations for our company and our industry rapidly evolving. Against that backdrop, I want to underscore my commitment — reflected in this report — to continuing to advance Biogen’s culture of transparency and disclosure so that our stakeholders, including our employees, patients, investors, partners and communities, have access to reliable data-driven information about all the dimensions of our business.
On behalf of all our employees, I want to thank the many people and institutions who are critical partners in the important work reflected on these pages — our collaborators, suppliers and community leaders, as well as the thousands of clinical trial participants, their families, caregivers and the medical professionals who are essential to the development of the next generation of medicines. There is much more we can continue to accomplish by working together to help our fellow citizens live healthier, fuller lives. I look forward to partnering with our stakeholders to build on and advance the substantial programs and initiatives reflected in this year’s report.
One of the primary takeaways from a recent internal survey is that Biogen employees are driven by our purpose and believe in it. This finding is inspiring to me, and my hope is that as you read more about our corporate responsibility work and progress, you will be inspired too.
Regards,
Chris
