By Manas Mishra
(Reuters) -Biogen Inc said on Wednesday that Alzheimer’s disease drug Leqembi would bring in modest revenue for the year although it might not be enough to offset costs tied to its launch.
The company is banking on Leqembi, which was granted accelerated U.S. approval in January, to drive its sales at a time when many of Biogen’s top drugs face increasing competition.
Biogen has a 50% share of U.S. profits on Leqembi, which it developed with lead partner Eisai Co Ltd.
With Leqembi’s launch, “there’s a lot of work to be done at the start,” Chief Executive Officer Christopher Viehbacher said on a media call.
Viehbacher, who joined from Sanofi in November, is seeking to jumpstart growth at the drugmaker, which is still reeling from a series of setbacks for older Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm.
“Over the last couple of years, the company has lost its way somewhat and now it is in a declining revenue,” Viehbacher said.
“So the first order of the day is really to restore the growth of the company.”
The company expects full U.S. approval for Leqembi by summer or late this year, and possibly broader insurance coverage by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services thereafter.
Biogen expects full-year adjusted profit of $15 to $16 per share, compared with analysts’ estimates of $15.72 per share.
Fourth-quarter revenue fell 6.9% to $2.54 billion, partly hit by a slump in sales of multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera, but beat analysts’ estimates of $2.44 billion.
Sales of its spinal muscular atrophy drug, Spinraza, rose 4.1% to $458.8 million, above estimates of $425.1 million.
The company reported a Q4 adjusted profit of $4.05 per share, above Refinitiv IBES estimates of $3.48 per share.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
