To be considered for a grant, the following criteria must be met:

• Grant request must be unsolicited
• Grant request must not provide tangible benefit to Biogen
• Grant request must be submitted for a future project or program
• Funding amount requested must reflect a real and fair market value for the proposed activities
• Funding from other pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies, in addition to Biogen, is preferred (e.g. multiple sources of funding)
• Funds are not granted to directly or indirectly encourage recipients to purchase or prescribe Biogen's products or services
• Funding is permitted only to legally established organizations; a grant cannot be provided to individuals
• Requesting organization must be registered for more than 2 years
• Requesting organization must confirm receipt of payment and verify how funds were used for all previous Biogen supported activities
• Requesting organization and grant request must be in full compliance with all regional and local codes, laws and industry regulations, including, but not limited to anti-corruption, transparency and privacy laws and regulations

Biogen will conduct appropriate due diligence on all requesting organizations and grant requests.

Biogen reserves the right to deny any grant request that does not meet application and eligibility requirements.

Biogen must not provide any substantive input or assistance to a requesting organization in drafting or submitting a grant request.

Biogen may modify the grant application and eligibility requirements at any time.

Separation from Commercial Initiatives

Grant requests from organizations that provide commercial services (e.g. marketing or promotional) to Biogen are thoroughly reviewed to ensure appropriate separation (firewalls) exists between the part of the organization providing commercial services to Biogen and the part of the organization seeking grant funding.

Third Parties

If a third-party provider will be utilized to implement the proposed project or program, the provider must not be owned in whole or in part by, or controlled by:

• A practicing physician or other HCP
• A group practice of physicians or other HCPs
• An individual who is an immediate family member of a practicing physician or other HCP

Limitations and Restrictions

Funding must not be used for:

• Travel, lodging or registration expenses for non-faculty healthcare professionals to attend a program
  
• Operating expenses that are not directly and exclusively dedicated to the project or program (e.g. equipment, salaries, benefits, journal subscriptions, etc.)
• Support of a promotional exhibit or display space/fees
  Please submit requests for exhibit fees under the Sponsorships request category
• Stand-alone entertainment or social events
• Staff/professional development
• Advertising space
• Programs that take place in a location or venue that detract from the educational activity’s primary purpose

All grant requests are reviewed according to the published application submission cycles.

Biogen has a formal, centralized grant review and decision-making process. Several factors are considered during this process including, but not limited to, the following:

• Alignment to areas of interest
• Project or program format
• Needs assessment summary
• Educational/grant objectives
• Target learners/participants
• Funding amount requested
• Proposed project or program outcomes (effectiveness)

To confirm Biogen’s independence from the requesting organization, the annual operating costs (total reportable expenses) of the organization are reviewed. The annual operating costs, which must be from either of the last 2 fiscal years, will be compared to the total funding provided to the requesting organization by Biogen on a rolling twelve (12) month-basis.

Funding decisions for grants are based on the quality of the proposal, alignment with Biogen’s grants strategy and budget availability. Decision notifications will be communicated in writing.

All recipient organizations must abide by the terms and conditions as outlined in the Biogen Letter of Agreement (LOA)/contract. The LOA/contract is issued electronically to an authorized signatory of the organization once an application is approved. A fully executed LOA/contract is required prior to the start of the project or program.

Payment will be issued upon execution of the LOA/contract.

Recipient organizations shall acknowledge support from Biogen in a non-promotional manner as permitted by local codes, laws and regulations.

Changes to an awarded grant (e.g. format, dates, audience), must be reviewed and approved by Biogen prior to the start of the project or program. To determine if funding may continue, organizations should submit the proposed changes by logging into the Biogen portal and submitting a Change of Scope for review.

Organizations may be asked to provide status updates and outcomes/progress reports throughout the course of the project or program's implementation.

Once the project or program concludes, a reconciliation must be completed by the recipient organization. The reconciliation confirms:

• Receipt of payment
• Funding was used appropriately (as described in the letter of agreement/contract)
• Grant objectives were achieved

This reconciliation must be completed through the Biogen portal within 90 days of the project or program end date. After 90 days, the reconciliation is considered overdue. Recipient organizations are not eligible to receive new funding until all overdue reconciliations are submitted and approved.

Biogen adheres to global transparency and disclosure reporting obligations in accordance with local regulations.

Separation from Commercial Initiatives

Grant requests from organizations that provide commercial services (e.g. marketing or promotional) to Biogen are thoroughly reviewed to ensure appropriate separation (firewalls) exists between the part of the organization providing commercial services to Biogen and the part of the organization seeking grant funding.

Third Parties

If a third-party provider will be utilized to implement the proposed project or program, the provider must not be owned in whole or in part by, or controlled by:

• A practicing physician or other HCP
• A group practice of physicians or other HCPs
• An individual who is an immediate family member of a practicing physician or other HCP

Limitations and Restrictions

Funding must not be used for:

• Travel, lodging or registration expenses for non-faculty healthcare professionals to attend a program
  Independent Education Grants for patient education may allow for support of reasonable travel and accommodation expenses related to patient/caregiver attendees, as determined, and where allowed by local laws and code.
• Operating expenses that are not directly and exclusively dedicated to the project or program (e.g. equipment, salaries, benefits, journal subscriptions, etc.)
• Support of a promotional exhibit or display space/fees
  Please submit requests for exhibit fees under the Sponsorships request category
• Stand-alone entertainment or social events
• Staff/professional development
• Advertising space
• Programs that take place in a location or venue that detract from the educational activity’s primary purpose