Over the past few days, health officials in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reported on a cluster of 26 cases of COVID-19 that were traced to a Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) internal strategy meeting held in late February. In response, Takeda (NYSE: TAK), another global pharmaceutical company with a large presence in Cambridge, has told its employees to work from home whenever possible and to avoid all conferences over the next three months.
Two people from Indiana who attended the same meeting have tested positive, prompting Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) to take precautionary measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further.
Work-from-home policies are great for anyone with a long commute, but they aren't so great for the advancement of scientific research. For example, the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research is scheduled to begin on April 24, which means nobody from Takeda or Eli Lilly will be delivering presentations there in person.