Filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that insiders at Biogen Idec, made millions of dollars in cash bonuses and stock sales, days before the company informed the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) of problems with the clinical trial of its blockbuster Tysabri drug for multiple sclerosis.

Biogen's 43% price slide on Monday: from almost $67 in mid-February to $38 on Monday

On February 17th, just a day before Biogen provided FDA with information on a patient's death from a combination of the Tysabri drug and another of the company's products, the board of directors approved $4.6 million in 2004 executive cash bonuses. On February 18th, Biogen general counsel Thomas Bucknum sold 89,700 shares for a profit of $1.94 million, according to the filing with the SEC.

On February 15th, Biogen Executive Chairman William Rastetter sold 120,313 shares for a profit of $7.45 million. A day before, another  Biogen director Robert Pangia sold 15,570 shares for a $954,844 profit.

Biogen has said that the directors had no knowledge about safety concerns about Tysabri, when they had made their stock sales. 

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