By Manas Mishra and Sriparna Roy
(Reuters) -Biogen beat market estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday as a series of cost-cutting measures helped offset the impact of fierce competition for its older drugs, sending its shares up nearly 7% before the bell.
The company also said sales of Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, recorded by Japanese partner Eisai, nearly tripled quarter-over-quarter to about $19 million. That was below lofty Wall Street expectations of $30 million, according to consensus estimates compiled by Jefferies.
Bottlenecks due to Leqembi's requirements such as additional diagnostic tests, twice-monthly infusions and regular brain scans have contributed to a slower adoption of the drug than markets were expecting.
The launch has led to profound changes in how doctors treat Alzheimer's patients, and challenges include the "amount of effort it takes to actually be able to initiate even the first patient", CEO Christopher Viehbacher said in an interview.
"I do think we're now on a positive track. I think we're seeing momentum," he said, but does not expect the launch to be linear.
The number of patients on Leqembi have increased nearly 2.5 times from roughly 2,000 patients at the end of 2023, Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) said. Eisai had previously aimed to treat 10,000 patients by March but indicated it would not meet the target in February.
While encouraging, the growth in patients needs to accelerate from here, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said.
Leqembi is among the newer drugs that Biogen is hoping will drive growth for the next few years, as its multiple sclerosis therapies and spinal muscular atrophy treatment grapple with increased competition.
Sales of Biogen's once-blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera came in at $254.3 million, above estimates of $236.84 million, but spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza missed estimates.
Skyclarys, the drug Biogen gained through its $6.5 billion Reata acquisition, brought in sales of $78 million, above estimates of $72.3 million.
Biogen's adjusted profit per share of $3.67 beat analysts' estimates of $3.45, according to LSEG.