April 29 (Reuters) – Biogen cut its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday as it booked acquisition-related charges, although its first-quarter earnings beat expectations on better-than-estimated sales of its Alzheimer’s and newer rare-disease treatments.
Shares fell nearly 2% in premarket trading.
Biogen is leaning on newer drugs and promising candidates in its immunology and rare-disease pipeline, along with strict cost discipline, to revive growth as revenue from its legacy multiple sclerosis treatments continue to fade.
“The setup for Biogen is gradually improving as the company evolves beyond just an Alzheimer’s/Leqembi story,” J.P.Morgan analysts said, adding that several pipeline milestones over the next 12–18 months could help derisk the story.
It strengthened its portfolio last month with the $5.6 billion buyout of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, adding a promising kidney disease therapy.
The buyout is expected to establish Biogen’s presence in the market for kidney disease treatments, complementing the development of its key late-stage renal candidate, felzartamab.
Biogen expects 2026 adjusted profit of between $14.25 and $15.25 per share, compared with its previous forecast of between $15.25 and $16.25 per share.
Global sales of Leqembi, developed with Eisai, rose 74% from a year earlier to about $168 million, including $86 million in the U.S., following a slow launch amid concerns over cost, efficacy and side effects.
Analysts projected Leqembi first-quarter sales of $131.03 million.
Biogen earned adjusted per-share profit of $3.57 for the quarter ended March 31, compared with expectations of $2.77.
Quarterly revenue came in at $2.48 billion, topping expectations of $2.26 billion.
Sales of multiple sclerosis drugs, including Vumerity, rose marginally to $957.5 million, beating a combined estimate of $891 million.
Revenue from rare-disease drugs fell more than 1% to $557.2 million, partly due to lower U.S. demand for spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza.
Biogen expects Spinraza revenue growth to be relatively flat in 2026.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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