(Reuters) – Biogen beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by a series of cost-cutting measures as older drugs face fierce competition.
The company also said its Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, developed with Japanese partner Eisai, recorded global sales of around $19 million, almost triple from the fourth quarter of 2023.
The number of patients receiving treatment has increased almost 2.5 times since the end of 2023, Biogen said.
Biogen and Eisai also plan to increase their sales force with the aim of reaching 100,000 patients by 2026.
Since CEO Christopher Viehbacher took the helm of Biogen in late 2022, the drugmaker has cut jobs, acquired rare disease drugmaker Reata for $6.5 billion and abandoned the controversial disease drug ‘Alzheimer, Aduhelm, with the aim of returning the company to growth.
Biogen is counting on new drugs to drive its growth in the coming years, including a second approved Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi, while its multiple sclerosis drugs and spinal muscular atrophy treatment are in the pipeline. faced with increased competition.
Quarterly sales of Tecfidera, Biogen’s once-blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug that faces competition from a cheaper generic, came in at $254.3 million, above estimates of $236 .84 million dollars.
While the Tecfidera patent has expired in the United States, Biogen estimates that it will benefit from market protection in Europe until February 2025.
Sales of spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza, which faces stiff competition from rival drugs made by Roche and Novartis, came in at $341.3 million, missing estimates of $417.79 million. dollars for the quarter ended March 31.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $3.67 per share for the first quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates of $3.45 per share, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Vaibhav Sadhamta in Bangalore; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
