Biogen Plunges as Alzheimer Drug’s Slow Uptake Signals Reset

The Biogen headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.

(Bloomberg) — Biogen Inc. fell the most in two years as its latest foray into Alzheimer’s disease got off to a slow start, suggesting a long road to growth for the biotechnology giant.

Just 2,000 patients have been treated so far with Leqembi, Biogen said Tuesday, a warning that the Alzheimer’s drug developed with Eisai Co. may miss its target of 10,000 recipients by the end of March.

Wall Street needs to reset its projections for the new drug, Wedbush Securities analyst Laura Chico said in a note, and Biogen’s “turnaround story remains a work in progress.” The shares fell as much 7.2% as of noon in New York, the most intraday since January 2022.

After Biogen’s Aduhelm failed to gain traction with Alzheimer’s patients and payers, Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher is focusing on Leqembi to replace sales of its multiple sclerosis treatments. MS drugs were long the company’s mainstay and are now succumbing to cheaper alternatives.

“Our iceberg is melting and that will to continue to melt,” the CEO said on an earnings call with reporters. “But progressively the new products take on a greater share of the revenue.”

Leqembi gained full US approval last year after a large trial clearly showed slowing of Alzheimer’s progression. But analysts have been expecting a slow rollout of the drug which must be intravenously infused at a hospital or clinic every two weeks.

Tokyo-based Eisai recorded about $7 million in fourth-quarter revenue for Leqembi.

“There’s plenty of demand from patients” for the drug, Viehbacher said. “It really is a question of the system being able to accommodate this new flow of patients.”

“We’re really looking at Alzheimer’s as being the core franchise of Biogen going forward,” he said.

Aduhelm Costs

Fourth-quarter adjusted profit declined 27% to $2.95 a share, Biogen said. The earnings were hit by a charge of 35 cents a share related to its decision to stop studying and selling Aduhelm.

The drugmaker is returning Aduhelm’s rights to Neurimmune, the private company that invented it, and redeploying resources to its other Alzheimer’s programs — including Leqembi.

Biogen has also sought treatments for rare diseases, agreeing in July to pay $7.3 billion for Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc., maker of Skyclarys, which was cleared for sale in the US last year. It’s the first approved treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare inherited degenerative disease that can impair walking and coordination in children.

Sales of rare disease drugs rose 3% in the fourth quarter — the first full quarter that Biogen has owned Skyclarys. Biogen announced this week that the therapy has also been approved in Europe.

Most Read from Bloomberg

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.