A New Era for Biogen and LA Biotech: Christopher Viehbacher’s Vision at LABEST 2024
Biogen is shifting from its identity as an MS company toward bold leadership in immunology and rare diseases.
CEO Christopher Viehbacher emphasized humility, reinvention, and LA's emerging leadership in biomedical innovation.
The keynote spotlighted four first-in-class therapies as case studies of how innovation can align with patient impact and scalable strategy.
I. A Legacy Reimagined: From MS to Immunology
Christopher Viehbacher’s keynote at LABEST 2024 wasn’t just a company update. It was a thesis on the future of biotech—where innovation is inseparable from ecosystem-building, patient access, and long-term vision.
Viehbacher opened by reflecting on Biogen’s origin story, founded in 1978 by two Nobel Prize winners. The company’s heritage is deeply rooted in neuroscience and multiple sclerosis (MS), where it has been a global leader for over two decades. But the world is changing, and so is Biogen.
Today, under Viehbacher’s leadership, Biogen is pivoting from a single-vertical identity into a broader platform company focused on immunology, rare diseases, and genetic medicine. With four first-in-class drugs launched in the last 12 months, Biogen is now shaping itself into a diversified innovation engine.
“The Twinkie can sit on the shelf for 20 years and still be good,” Viehbacher joked, noting that biotech is the opposite. You need to reinvent every few years or risk becoming obsolete. That, he said, is the tension and beauty of the industry.
II. The LA Advantage: Why Ecosystems Matter
One of the keynote’s central themes was the power of place. Viehbacher compared his past effort to build a biotech hub in Paris—where talent and ambition were present, but infrastructure was lacking—with Los Angeles, which he called one of the most promising emerging ecosystems in the world.
“Infrastructure matters,” he said, “but what really makes an ecosystem work is the people who want to make it work.” He praised LA’s founders, investors, and academic leaders for being not just technically skilled, but mission-driven.
His presence at LABEST—and his praise of the city’s biotech community—was more than ceremonial. It signaled Biogen’s interest in deeper ties to the Southern California life sciences ecosystem, which blends academic firepower with startup agility and a rich patient population.
As someone who has led companies across Europe and North America, Viehbacher’s admiration for LA’s collaborative spirit was notable. “You don’t just need great science,” he said. “You need people who believe they can do something bigger.”
III. Four Firsts: The New Face of Biogen
Viehbacher structured his keynote around four major therapeutic breakthroughs, each one representing a pivot in Biogen’s mission.
Tofersen for ALS
Biogen’s genetic therapy for ALS patients with SOD1 mutations was a centerpiece of the talk. Viehbacher played a powerful video of a patient who had regained the ability to walk. “We rarely get to reverse a disease,” he said. “But this is different.”Tofersen wasn’t just a scientific milestone; it was an emotional anchor. Viehbacher credited collaboration with the patient community and regulators for making accelerated approval possible. “This was built with—not for—patients,” he emphasized.
Zuranolone for Postpartum Depression
Viehbacher described Zuranolone as a leap forward in neuropsychiatry: the first oral, rapid-onset treatment for postpartum depression. Where traditional antidepressants take weeks, Zuranolone works within days.“If you’ve had a baby, or know someone who has, you know the stakes here,” he said. The therapy’s approval was seen as both a clinical and cultural shift, especially for a condition long under-prioritized by the medical system.
Skyclarys for Friedreich’s Ataxia
Originally developed by Reata Pharmaceuticals and acquired by Biogen, Skyclarys became the first approved treatment for Friedreich’s Ataxia, a rare neuromuscular disease.“This is about betting on the underdog,” said Viehbacher. He credited the deal team for recognizing the potential early and framed the acquisition as an example of how Biogen is thinking differently about rare diseases and smart pipeline expansion.
Leqembi for Alzheimer’s Disease
Biogen’s most visible—and perhaps most controversial—advance has been in Alzheimer’s. Leqembi, approved in partnership with Eisai, is the first drug shown to slow progression of the disease by targeting amyloid plaques.Viehbacher was candid about the challenges of working in Alzheimer’s, where the science, public perception, and payer environment are all complex. “This is not an easy path,” he admitted, “but it’s the right one.”
The company is now investing in next-gen Alzheimer’s programs targeting tau proteins and neuroinflammation—doubling down on its neuroscience roots, but with updated tools.
IV. Strategy as a Science
Throughout the keynote, Viehbacher emphasized that biotech success is about more than molecules. “Science without strategy is just a hobby,” he said.
He pointed to Biogen’s internal transformation: de-siloing R&D and commercial functions, refining capital allocation, and hiring world-class talent like Jane Grogan to lead research.
He also noted that Biogen is applying its MS expertise to new immunology programs. “We’ve always understood the immune system—it’s just been through the lens of the brain. Now we’re widening the aperture.”
Recent moves like acquiring Human Immunology Biosciences and building a pipeline in lupus nephritis reflect this shift. For Viehbacher, diversification doesn’t mean abandoning Biogen’s legacy—it means using it as a launchpad.
V. The Culture of Reinvention
Near the end of his keynote, Viehbacher addressed an often-overlooked ingredient in biotech leadership: humility.
“This is a business of uncertainty,” he said. “You have to be humble enough to listen to the science and brave enough to act on it.”
He recounted his departure from Sanofi in 2014—not as a failure, but as a necessary evolution. His time in private equity (at Gurnet Point Capital) taught him how to evaluate companies, not just run them. That outsider-insider perspective now shapes how he leads Biogen.
“I used to think I had to have all the answers,” he reflected. “Now I know I just need to ask the right questions—and empower the people who do have the answers.”
This shift toward servant leadership was palpable. Viehbacher repeatedly spotlighted his team, cited patient advocates, and deferred credit to scientists. For a keynote often filled with data, the human tone made it memorable.
VI. A Call to Action for the Biotech Community
Viehbacher ended with a challenge—not just to his peers, but to everyone in the audience.
He warned of growing headwinds: drug pricing politics, anti-science sentiment, and public skepticism about biotech. “We’re not entitled to public trust,” he said. “We have to earn it, every day.”
He called on every person in the room to become an advocate for biomedical progress—not just within their companies, but in public discourse. “Science doesn’t speak for itself,” he reminded the crowd. “People speak for it.”
His parting message was optimistic, but clear-eyed: Biotech is hard, slow, and often thankless. But it is also the most powerful engine of human progress we have.
In that spirit, he closed with a quote from Arie Belldegrun, who had introduced him earlier: “Leadership is not about knowing where the world is going. It’s about being brave enough to help shape it.”
Shaping the Future, One Bet at a Time
Christopher Viehbacher’s keynote was a blueprint for its reinvention—and a broader invitation for the entire life sciences community to think bigger.
With four new therapies, a retooled R&D strategy, and a renewed commitment to patient-centric innovation, Biogen is positioning itself not as a legacy player, but as a next-generation biotech engine.
In the heart of Los Angeles, at a conference that once drew dozens and now draws nearly a thousand, Viehbacher’s voice stood out. Not because he made big promises, but because he made a compelling case for humility, clarity, and long-term thinking.
Biogen may have started in neuroscience. But under his leadership, it's building something much broader: a new model for how biotech can grow up without losing its soul.
That’s a message LA—and the global biotech community—needed to hear.