Biogen tops profit estimates as cost cuts take hold, Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi launch picks up

Biogen
on
Wednesday

reported
first-quarter
profit
that
topped
estimates
as
the
company’s
cost-cutting
efforts
took
hold
and
sales
of
its
closely
watched
Alzheimer’s
drug,
Leqembi,
came
in
higher
than
expected.

Biogen
and


Eisai‘s
Leqembi
became
the
first
drug
found
to
slow
the
progression
of
Alzheimer’s
disease
to
win
approval
in
the
U.S.
in
July.
The
treatment’s
launch
has
been
sluggish,
but
uptake
appeared
to
accelerate
in
the
first
quarter. 

Leqembi
brought
in
about
$19
million
in
sales
for
the
quarter,
up
from
the
$10
million
the
drug
generated
last
year.
That
blows
past
the
$11
million
analysts
had
expected,
according
to
estimates
compiled
by
FactSet. 

The
number
of
patients
on
the
therapy
increased
nearly
2.5
times
since
the
end
of
2023,
according
to
Biogen.
The
company
added
that
the
number
of
new
patients
who
started
Leqembi
jumped
in
March,
making
up
more
than
20%
of
the
cumulative
patients
now
on
the
treatment. 

Biogen
did
not
provide
a
specific
number
of
patients
using
Leqembi.
In
February,
Biogen
CEO
Chris
Viehbacher
told
reporters
that
there
were
around
2,000
patients
currently
on
Leqembi.

The
company
hopes
the
drug
and
other
newly
launched
products
will
drive
growth
as
it
cuts
costs
and
sees

sales
plummet
for
its
multiple
sclerosis
therapies,
some
of
which
face
generic
competition.

Here’s
what
Biogen
reported
for
the
first
quarter
compared
with
what
Wall
Street
was
expecting,
based
on
a
survey
of
analysts
by
LSEG: 

• Earnings
  per
  share:
  $3.67
  adjusted
  vs.
  $3.45
  expected
• Revenue:
  $2.29
  billion
  vs.
  $2.31
  billion
  expected

The
biotech
company
booked
sales
of
$2.29
billion
for
the
quarter,
down
7%
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago.
It
reported
net
income
of
$393.4
million,
or
$2.70
per
share,
for
the
first
quarter,
up
from
net
income
of
$387.9
million,
or
$2.67
per
share,
for
the
same
period
a
year
ago. 

Adjusting
for
one-time
items,
the
company
reported
earnings
of
$3.67
per
share.

Biogen
reiterated
its
full-year
2024
adjusted
earnings
forecast
of
$15
to
$16
per
share. Analysts
surveyed
by
LSEG
had
expected
full-year
earnings
guidance
of
$15.49
per
share. 

The
company
also
reiterated
its
2024
sales
guidance
of
a
low-
to
mid-single
digit
percentage
decline
compared
with
last
year. 

Apart
from
Leqembi,
investors
also
have
their
eyes
on
other
newly
launched
drugs. 

That
includes
Skyclarys,
brought
in
by
Biogen’s
acquisition
of
Reata
Pharmaceuticals
in
July.
That
drug
notched
$78
million
in
fourth-quarter
revenue.

Analysts
had
expected
sales
of
$68.8
million,
according
to
FactSet
estimates. 

The
FDA
cleared
Skyclarys
last
year,
making
it
the
first
approved
treatment
for
Friedreich
ataxia,
a
rare
inherited
degenerative
disease
that
can
impair
walking
and
coordination
in
children
as
young
as
5.
In
February,
European
Union
regulators
approved
Skyclarys
for
the
treatment
of
Friedreich
ataxia
in
patients
ages
16
and
up. 

Biogen
has
also
partnered
with
Sage
Therapeutics
on
the
first
pill
for
postpartum
depression,
which
won
FDA
approval
in
August.
But
the
agency
declined
to
clear
the
drug
for
major
depressive
disorder,
which
is
a
far
larger
market. 

Biogen
said
that
pill,
called
Zurzuvae,
generated
first-quarter
sales
of
$12
million.
Analysts
had
expected
just
$5
million
in
sales
of
that
drug,
FactSet
said.

Meanwhile,
Biogen’s
first-quarter
revenue
from
multiple
sclerosis
products
fell
4%
to
$1.08
billion
as
some
of
its
therapies
face
competition
from
cheaper
generics. 

The
company’s
once-blockbuster
drug
Tecfidera,
which
is
facing
competition
from
a
generic
rival,
posted
revenue
of
$254.3
million
in
the
first
quarter,
down
from
$274.5
million
from
the
same
period
a
year
ago. 

Still,
that
came
in
higher
than
analysts’
estimate
of
$227.7
million,
according
to
FactSet. 

Vumerity,
an
oral
medication
for
relapsing
forms
of
multiple
sclerosis,
generated
$127.5
million
in
sales.
That
came
in
below
analysts’
estimates
of
$137.9
million,
FactSet
estimates
said. 

Biogen’s
rare
disease
drugs
recorded
$423.9
million
in
sales,
down
from
the
$443.3
million
in
the
same
period
a
year
ago. 

Spinraza,
a
medication
used
to
treat
a
rare
neuromuscular
disorder
called
spinal
muscular
atrophy,
recorded
$341.3
million
in
sales.
That
came
under
analysts’
estimate
of
$415.1
million
in
revenue,
according
to
FactSet. 

Biogen
said
the
timing
of
Spinraza
shipments
and
increased
competition
affected
first-quarter
revenue
comparisons
outside
of
the
U.S.

The
company’s
biosimilar
drugs
booked
$196.9
million
in
sales,
up
slightly
from
the
$192.4
million
reported
during
the
year-earlier
period.
Analysts
had
expected
sales
of
$192.5
million
from
those
medicines.