Biogen may be looking for more space in suburbs

Biogen Idec Inc. is searching for as much as 300,000 square feet of additional office space in the Boston suburbs, including Waltham and Weston, according to the Boston Business Journal.

The biotechnology company currently has more than 1,500 employees at its Cambridge headquarters and research center. it has another 150 marketing, sales and administrative jobs in Wellesley -- the company moved those jobs from Cambridge to Wellesley in April 2007.

In January, Biogen Idec chief executive Jim Mullen (photo) said it makes sense to move some business-related jobs to the suburbs, where rents are less expensive, but he also said it was important to maintain Biogen Idec's research operations near Cambridge's Kendall Square, considered the heart of the region's biotech cluster.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)