biogen on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter revenue and profit that fell from a year ago as it booked charges related to the abandonment of its controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm and as sales fell in its multiple sclerosis therapies, the largest drug company.
Biogen posted sales of $2.39 billion for the quarter, down 6% from the same period a year earlier. Revenue from multiple sclerosis products fell 8% to $1.17 billion as the therapies face competition from cheaper generics.
Biogen reported net income of $249.7 billion, or $1.71 per share, for the fourth quarter. That compares with net income of $550.4 billion, or $3.79 per share, for the same period a year ago. Adjusting for one-time items, the company reported $2.95 per share.
The drugmaker's fourth-quarter earnings per share, both adjusted and unadjusted, took a 35-cent negative hit associated with the previously disclosed costs of recalling Aduhelm, which had a polarizing approval and launch in the U.S.
Biogen is cutting costs as it pins its hopes on its other Alzheimer's drugs, including its closely watched Leqembi treatment and other recently launched products to replace declining revenue from its multiple sclerosis therapies.
Here's what Biogen reported for the fourth quarter compared to what Wall Street expected, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $2.95 vs. expected $3.18
- Revenue: $2.39 billion vs. $2.47 billion expected
Also on Tuesday, Biogen issued full-year 2024 guidance calling for adjusted earnings of $15 to $16 per share. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected full-year earnings of $15.65 per share.
The drugmaker said it expects sales in 2024 to decline by a low- to mid-single-digit percentage compared to last year. But the company expects its pharmaceutical revenue, which includes product revenue and its 50% share of Leqembi sales, to remain stable this year compared to 2023.
The results come amid the launch of Biogen and Eisai's Leqembi, which became the first drug that slows disease progression to gain approval in the US last year.
Eisai, which reported earnings last week, posted $7 million in revenue in Leqembi's fourth quarter.
Biogen CEO Christopher Viehbacher told reporters in a media call on Tuesday that there are currently around 2,000 patients in Leqembi. That makes Biogen's goal of 10,000 patients by the end of March 2024 look increasingly difficult to reach, but Viehbacher emphasized that the company is focused more on Leqembi's long-term reach than on reaching that benchmark.
“I think the important thing is that we are making progress now,” he told reporters. “The 10,000 is not really difficult and I think now we are really focusing on the business plans: how do we get to the next 100,000?”
Notably, the low adoption rate is not due to a lack of demand: There are currently about 8,000 U.S. patients waiting to receive treatment, Eisai executives said on an earnings conference call last week.
The companies are also working to get the Food and Drug Administration to approve an injectable version of Leqembi, which showed promising initial results in a clinical trial in October.
Currently, Leqembi is administered twice a month through veins, a method known as intravenous infusion. The injectable form would be a new, more convenient option for delivering antibody treatment to patients, potentially paving the way for wider acceptance.
But investors also have their eyes on other newly launched drugs.
That includes Skyclarys from Biogen's $7.3 billion acquisition of Reata Pharmaceuticals in July.
The FDA cleared Skyclarys last year, making it the first approved treatment for Friedreich's ataxia, a rare inherited degenerative disease that can affect gait and coordination in children as young as 5 years old.
On Monday, EU regulators approved Skyclarys for the treatment of Friedreich's ataxia in patients aged 16 and older.
Biogen will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET.
This story is developing. Please check for updates.
