Biogen recorded higher-than-expected revenue for the lead rare disease drug from its $7 billion acquisition of Reata Pharmaceuticals, but the rollout of its second-generation Alzheimer’s drug with Eisai is still a work in progress.
Leqembi, which received an accelerated nod last January and a full US approval last summer, is the first of the Alzheimer’s drugs that Medicare will pay for, and recent reports have said the anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody could cost Medicare billions by 2025. So far, the duo’s second shot at the memory-robbing disease after their first, Aduhelm, went up in smoke, has seen a slow commercial launch.
Global in-market sales of Leqembi were about $19 million in the first quarter, Biogen said Wednesday, which compares with sales of almost $7 million in the three months leading up to 2024. Biogen noted “significant increase in new patient starts observed in March which contributed over 20% of cumulative patients now on” Leqembi.
Jefferies analysts said April 14 that Leqembi was “looking to be ~$18-20M but VA consensus looks high at $30M.”
The number of patients on Leqembi increased almost two and a half times since the end of last year, the drugmaker said. There were about 2,000 patients on the treatment as of Jan. 26, its partner Eisai said on Feb. 6.
Leqembi’s commercial success also may depend on the approval of Eli Lilly’s other amyloid-targeted Alzheimer’s drug that’s soon to face an FDA advisory committee.
Chris Viehbacher“We were encouraged that Leqembi in-market revenue for the first quarter nearly tripled sequentially and we saw a significant build in month-to-month new patient starts in the first quarter,” Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher said in a statement. “In rare disease, the US launch of Skyclarys is advancing well and with the EU launch underway, we are beginning to realize the value of the Reata transaction.”
The Boston drugmaker said Skyclarys, a treatment for the nervous system disorder Friedreich’s ataxia, made $78 million in first-quarter revenues, slightly above TD Cowen analyst estimates and the broader consensus.
Overall revenue for the quarter was $2.29 billion, which fell short of the $2.31 billion Wall Street estimates.