Revving the engine

After 18 months on the job, EVP of R&D Douglas Williams is making good on his promise to reignite target discovery efforts at Biogen Idec Inc., starting with several new hires, including a CSO from Harvard Medical School, and a series of academic collaborations.

When Williams finished pruning the pipeline in early 2011, Biogen Idec had eight Phase III programs but none in Phase II and just five in Phase I (see BioCentury, Aug. 29, 2011)...