Prime Highlights
- Analysts noted Biogen is gradually moving beyond its Alzheimer’s identity, with pipeline milestones over the next 12 to 18 months expected to reduce execution risk.
- Leqembi sales surged 74% year-on-year, with real-world data showing 78% of patients remaining on the drug at 18 months.
Key Facts
- Biogen is a US-based biotechnology company focused on neurological, rare, and autoimmune disease treatments, with Leqembi as its flagship Alzheimer’s drug.
- Biogen acquired Apellis Pharmaceuticals for $5.6 billion last month, adding a kidney disease therapy to expand into renal care.
Background
Biogen posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, with its Alzheimer’s treatment and rare-disease drugs driving growth even as demand for its older multiple sclerosis medicines continues to soften. The results pushed its shares up 6%.
Adjusted profit came in at $3.57 per share, well ahead of analyst estimates of $2.77. Revenue reached $2.48 billion, topping forecasts of $2.26 billion. Sales of its Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, developed in partnership with Eisai, jumped 74% from a year earlier to roughly $168 million — well above expectations of $131 million. Real-world data from the company showed around 78% of patients stayed on Leqembi at the 18-month mark. A decision from the US health regulator, expected by the last week of May, on a subcutaneous at-home dose could further widen the drug’s reach.
Rare-disease revenue hit $557.2 million, beating forecasts, while multiple sclerosis drug sales edged up marginally to $957.5 million, also topping estimates. Biogen strengthened its portfolio last month with a $5.6 billion acquisition of
Apellis Pharmaceuticals, adding a kidney disease therapy and establishing a foothold in renal care. CEO Christopher Viehbacher said the deal reduces the need for further large acquisitions, with focus now shifting to early-stage research where the pipeline remains thin.
Biogen trimmed its 2026 adjusted profit forecast to between $14.25 and $15.25 per share, down from an earlier range of $15.25 to $16.25, reflecting a $1 per share charge tied to the acquisition. The company plans to revise its full-year outlook once the deal closes in the second quarter.
