Biogen Idec may join migration to the 'burbs

Biogen Idec may join the exodus of biotech companies leaving Cambridge, MA and move its corporate HQ on out to the suburbs. CEO Jim Mullen (photo) says there's a pretty simple reason why the biotech giant may relocate to Weston: money.

"It's sort of the natural evolution of these things," Biogen Idec chief executive Jim Mullen tells the Boston Globe. "The cost of running a business in Cambridge is pretty high." Mullen plans to make a firm decision by the end of the year.

Cambridge, MA has developed into a thriving biotech hub largely because of the world-class scientific talent in town. But more than a half dozen biotech companies have left Cambridge in the past year to take advantage of the lower operating costs of the ‘burbs. Mullen made it clear, though, that whatever happens to the company's corporate workers, Biogen Idec's R&D work will continue to stay close to MIT, so it can retain and recruit the brainpower it needs.

 - read the report from the Boston Globe

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