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Please forgive me if this has already been posted, I searched and couldn't find it.


Munschauer is leaving neurological institute

What I see in the article below is definitely NOT coincidental. Dr. Frederick Munschauer III is also chairman of the University at Buffalo Department of Neurology. The article says he is leaving the Jacobs Neurological Institute, not the University at Buffalo Department of Neurology.

Why is he leaving? TO BECOME VICE PRESIDENT OF U.S. MEDICAL AFFAIRS FOR BIOGEN IDEC, a pharmaceutical company best known for its multiple sclerosis therapies.

So, this guy is to become the vice president of U.S. medical affairs for Biogen, while also serving as chairman of the University at Buffalo Department of Neurology.

This article was written Jan. 27, 2010

Conflict of interest? I’d say a MAJOR one.

Biogen is getting scared, and trying to protect its interests. I don’t know how the results will come out, but if they are not favorable, we’ll know why.


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The chief of the Jacobs Neurological Institute in Buffalo is leaving to become vice president of U.S. medical affairs for Biogen Idec, a pharmaceutical company best known for its multiple sclerosis therapies.
Dr. Frederick Munschauer III, an authority on multiple sclerosis and such vascular diseases as stroke, also is chairman of the University at Buffalo Department of Neurology.
There is no cure for MS, but in the last 26 years, a handful of medications have come to market to treat the exacerbations and slow the course of the disease. Research by Munschauer and the late Dr. Lawrence D. Jacobs, a Buffalo neurologist, played a key role in the development of Biogen's Avonex, the drug most widely prescribed to treat relapsing MS.
Munschauer, whose family's roots in Buffalo date back to 1823, said the Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen has new drugs in development that can slow the progression of MS, as well as one that may reverse the disability the disease causes.
"It was not an easy decision. But I have an opportunity to influence the next generation of drugs for MS, and that's very exciting," he said.
Neurologist Dr. Robert Sawyer has been named interim chief of the institute while a search is conducted to find a replacement.


Biogen, of course, is the manufacturer of Avonex and Tysabri.[/b]

yes, there was a thread about this...
http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-9984.html

Wow, I didn't realize he was staying on as chairman, interesting.

i experimented with a search for biogen, filtered on posts, and there were 1269 results. the item why mentioned showed up on the first page in the results list.
how did you access the search tool, vonna? from the modules menu or the forum header menu?

jimmylegs, I searched with the forum header menu. However, I didn't only search Biogen. I searched things like "Biogen new vice president" and "Biogen Munschauer".

I'm sure it's a good move for him and I wish more power to him!

We will still see CCSVI through with or without him at the helm and if Biogen can kick out this anti-LINGO, re-mylenating drug, the more power to us!

Remember, there will be a great need for drugs of this type even if CCSVI pans out, especially for us progressive MSer's - which is essentially all of us, right?

I wouldn't waste too much thought on this...

I'm not into the conspiracy theory part of this, but how the hell can someone be VP of medical affairs for a drug company and also head a university department--AND remain neutral? CCSVI aside, that is pretty screwed up.

sorry to say this but I stopped 'buying' the BS at 50...I smell a RAT!

um what would you do if you owned biogen?


hire a guy who knows ccsvi, rethink all medications for the 'legacy ms' group who will be the only people left with MS symptoms, (there's not much money in this group,f ccsvi means they wont be 'replenished')

start focusing on a new disease.

um what would you do if you owned biogen?


hire a guy who knows ccsvi, rethink all medications for the 'legacy ms' group who will be the only people left with MS symptoms, (there's not much money in this group,f ccsvi means they wont be 'replenished')

start focusing on a new disease.

I wonder if this was the Jacobs Nuero my Dr was telling me about that was so against CCSVI and bashed it at the conference he was at???

Sounds about right.....

Cat

There has to be a more dignified form of employment than profiting off of and perpetuating the pain and suffering of others. Small wonder the planet is going to hell.

When all the stanford neuro's went to boston for a weekend 'conference' and the email came out that Dr. Dake was banned I always figured a pharm company brought them all in. I remember the start of the email was " I hope you all enjoyed your flight back from Boston...".
10:1 it was Biogen getting everybody organized to fight this off.

Trust me on this one. There is no conflict of interest with Dr Munschauser taking a job with Biogen.

This from someone at BNAC (not me): "Dr. Munchauser is no longer with the Jacobs Neurology Insitute or University. The JNI is the Dept. of Neurology at Univ. at Buffalo."

So, no conflict of interest.

ozarkcanoer

I realize that everybody likes to be negative but I have a different few of the leaving of DR Munsch and it comes from this:

One of the more intriguing experimental drugs for multiple sclerosis has just entered its first clinical trial. Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) has now started what it believes to be the first-ever clinical trial of a drug with the potential to regenerate the fatty protective coating around nerves that gets damaged in people with multiple sclerosis.

Maybe the Dr is leaving the grueling surgical intervention to other competent Dr's and is moving on to the other aspect of fixing that angio/stenting can't do for the more damaged MSers.