Biogen The company on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings and revenue, which beat estimates and raised its full-year guidance as the company's cost cutting showed progress and sales of its breakthrough Alzheimer's drug Leqembi and other new products beat expectations.
Biogen now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $15.75 to $16.25 per share, up from a previous forecast of $15 to $16 per share.
The biotech company also expects sales in 2024 to decline by a low-single-digit percentage. Biogen's previous guidance was for a low- to mid-single-digit percentage decline from last year.
Leqembi, which Biogen shares with Eisai, became the second drug shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s to win U.S. approval last summer. The therapy’s rollout has been gradual because of hurdles related to diagnostic testing requirements and regular brain scans, among other issues.
But Leqembi's acceptance appears to be picking up, with roughly $40 million in sales during the quarter. That's more than the $31 million analysts had expected, according to estimates compiled by StreetAccount.
The drug recorded just $10 million in sales last year after its launch.
However, Leqembi faces hurdles in Europe, where a drug regulator has recommended against approving the treatment because of its risk of inflammation and bleeding in the brain. The companies will ask for the decision to be reviewed.
The biotech company expects Leqembi and other new products to drive growth as it cuts costs and contends with falling demand for its multiple sclerosis therapies, some of which face competition from cheaper generics. Biogen expects to achieve about $1 billion in gross cost savings by the end of 2025, according to its annual report in February.
Here's what Biogen reported for the second quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $5.28 adjusted vs. $4.03 expected
- Revenue: $2.47 billion versus the expected $2.38 billion
Biogen posted sales of $2.47 billion for the quarter, roughly flat from the same period a year earlier.
The drugmaker posted second-quarter net income of $583.6 million, or $4.07 per share, compared with $591.6 million, or $4.07 per share, a year earlier.
Adjusting for non-recurring items, the company reported earnings of $5.28 per share.
Investors are closely watching other newly launched drugs besides Leqembi, including Skyclarys, which emerged from Biogen's acquisition of Reata Pharmaceuticals in July.
The treatment generated $100 million in sales in the second quarter. Analysts had expected the drug to gross $92.3 million in the quarter, according to StreetAccount.
The Food and Drug Administration gave Skyclarys the green light last year, making it the first approved treatment for Friedreich's ataxia, a rare inherited degenerative disease that can affect walking and coordination in children as young as 5 years old.
Zurzuvae, the first pill for postpartum depression, generated second-quarter sales of $14.9 million. Analysts had expected sales of just $11 million for that drug, according to estimates by StreetAccount.
Biogen shares that pill with Sage Therapeutics
Meanwhile, Biogen's second-quarter sales of multiple sclerosis treatments fell 5% to $1.15 billion as some products face competition from cheaper generics.
Still, some of those drugs posted higher-than-expected sales.
Tecfidera, for example, posted $252.2 million in revenue in the second quarter, which was relatively flat compared to the same period a year earlier. Analysts had expected the once blockbuster drug to generate $233.3 million in revenue for the quarter, according to StreetAccount.
