Biotech bosses oppose Trump's immigration order

7 February 2017

Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) boss Michel Vounatsos and his predecessor George Scangos, Bluebird Bio (Nasdaq: BLUE) chief executive Nick Leschly and John Maraganore, the man at the helm of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALNY), are just a few of the 166 biotech leaders who have opposed an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump barring the entry of citizens from seven predominantly-Muslim countries into the USA.

Although a court last week issued a temporary restraining order against the executive order that suspends its enforcement nationwide, President Trump has said that he will seek to overturn the court ruling, and many US citizens and businesses have voiced their opposition to his stance.

Many members of the biotech community added their objections in Tuesday’s letter, signatories of which are based in the USA and Canada. They also included Ovid Therapeutics’ chief executive Jeremy Levin and Ron Cohen, who holds the top job at Acorda Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ACOR).

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