Biogen Inc. — Ethics Grade C-

Biogen Inc. receives an overall ethics grade of C- (42/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Healthcare. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 55
• privacy: 80
• consumer: 25
• environment: 65
• humanRights: 40

Documented incidents (3)

• Controversial Alzheimer's drug pricing (high, 2021) — Biogen set an initial price of $56,000 per year for Aduhelm, a drug with questionable efficacy, leading to a massive public outcry and a Congressional investigation.
• Physician kickback settlement (high, 2022) — The company entered a settlement to resolve allegations that it paid kickbacks to physicians to encourage them to prescribe the company's multiple sclerosis drugs.
• COVID-19 superspreader event (medium, 2020) — A 2020 management conference held by Biogen in Boston was identified as one of the earliest major superspreading events in the U.S., linked to over 300,000 cases.

Documented good deeds

• Clinical trial diversity initiative — Biogen launched a program to increase the representation of underrepresented communities in clinical trials for neurological conditions.

Ethical alternatives

• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals — Lower record of pricing controversies and higher R&D transparency.