Shareholders of Biogen Idec Inc., one of biotech's leading companies, have rebuffed Icahn's attempt to place three allies on the board. The vote was announced Thursday at Biogen Idec's annual shareholder meeting.
The exact tally was not immediately available, but the firm said an early count tilts the battle in Biogen's favor. Alexander Denner, one of Icahn's nominees and the managing director of two Icahn-owned funds, conceded defeat at the meeting in Cambridge, Mass., according to onsite accounts.
The activist Icahn has been particularly active of late, stirring the pot at Web giant Yahoo! Inc. and electronics maker Motorola Inc., and forcing Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. to split in two. However, Icahn retreated last week from his campaign against railcar maker Greenbrier Cos.
The Biogen loss and Greenbrier retreat will likely provide more fuel for his latest endeavour, his blog, The Icahn Report. - Alex Lash
You win some, you lose some, but Carl Icahn just lost a big one -- days after retreating from another campaign. 
