It’s that time of year again – the annual battle for control of Biogen Idec, one of the grande dames of biotech. And today’s installment did not disappoint.

For those of you who haven’t been glued to the Biogen soap opera, here’s a quick catch-up: Biogen is one of the oldest biotechnology companies and arguably the founder of the Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech cluster. The company chugged along for nearly thirty years until 2007, when billionaire ‘corporate raider’/’shareholder activist’ (depending on whose side you’re on) Carl Icahn became one of Biogen’s largest shareholders. With an eye on the multi-billion dollar prices pharmaceutical companies were paying for biotech firms, Icahn immediately tried to force Biogen executives to sell the company. The execs put the company on the market for a few months, then shrugged and said they couldn’t find any takers. Icahn didn’t buy that: he accused Biogen of lying to investors and interfering with the search for a suitor, and then sued the company for access to records pertaining to the failed sales attempt. (More details available here, subscription required.) After that, Icahn riled Biogen executives again when he lobbied for the company to be split into two. “Once again, Icahn and his associates have demonstrated that they fundamentally do not understand our business,” board chairman Bruce Ross and CEO James Mullen wrote in a letter to shareholders.

Which brings us to today. In what promises to become a yearly tradition, Icahn tried to forcefully take hold of Biogen’s board of directors by nominating four of his associates to the board. (He tried this approach last year as well, and failed.) Biogen was to tally voting results today at the annual shareholder’s meeting, which started at 9am, but then Ross unexpectedly announced a recess until 2pm. The delay prompted an outcry from Icahn’s posse, with one of his nominees reportedly protesting, “This isn’t North Korea.” When the meeting rejoined in the afternoon, Ross said votes were still being tallied and winners would not be announced until later this month. Before the afternoon was over, Icahn had called Biogen’s behavior “sort of despicable” (Boston Globe), declared victory for two of his nominees (although no official vote tallies have been released) and, of course, filed another lawsuit against the company.

What did the shareholders decide? What will Icahn try next? How long will Biogen survive as an independent company? All of this and more, to be continued…