With increased sales of its newer drugs compensating for declining revenues from its multiple sclerosis (MS) portfolio, Biogen is once again positioned for a “growth story,” CEO Chris Viehbacher said Wednesday during the company’s second quarter earnings call.
To that end, Biogen reported revenue of $2.74 billion for the period, marking its highest quarterly haul since Q3 of 2021. With the result, the company flipped its 2026 revenue guidance from an expected mid-single digit decline in 2026 to a mid-single digit increase.
“This quarter is a reflection of the significant progress Biogen has made repositioning the company for long-term growth,” Viehbacher added.
Biogen acknowledged that part of the guidance reversal can be attributed to its $5.6 billion buyout of Apellis Pharmaceuticals. The May acquisition brought two growth drivers—geographic atrophy drug Syfovre and rare disease treatment Empaveli—into the commercial fold. Combined sales for the duo, which were approved in 2023 and 2021 respectively, increased by 22% for the full quarter.
Also playing a role in the revenue boost (PDF) were three drugs that reached the market in 2023. Alzheimer’s disease treatment Leqembi was up 15% year over year to $184 million. Friedreich’s ataxia drug Skyclarys saw a 29% gain to $168 million. And postpartum depression therapy Zurzuvae realized a 53% increase to $71 million. Also pointing to Zurzuvae’s momentum was a 28% sequential boost in sales.
Biogen also reported positive news on the launch of its new high-dose (HD) formulation of Spinraza. In March, when Biogen gained approval for the new version of the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treatment 10 years after it was originally endorsed, the company touted its improved efficacy and convenience for patients.
“What I think you’re seeing is Spinraza still setting the bar on efficacy in this space,” Alisha Alaimo, Biogen’s president of North America operations, said during the conference call. “If we think about metrics, Spinraza high dose is exceeding the original launch of Spinraza in both start forms and grads in the first 13 weeks of launch and we are growing every single week.”
Spinraza was the first drug on the market for SMA, but its sales have been eroding since peaking at $2.10 billion in 2019, last year coming in at $1.55 billion. Meanwhile, Roche’s Evrysdi, which was approved in SMA in 2020, pulled in sales of 1.76 billion Swiss francs ($2.11 billion) in 2025, and Novartis’ gene therapy Zolgensma, which reached the market in 2019 in the same indication, generated sales of $1.23 billion last year.
With sales of $402 million in the second quarter, which were up 2%, Spinraza remains Biogen’s second best-selling drug behind aging MS treatment Tysabri, which itself enjoyed a “resilient performance” in Q2, according to Mizuho analyst Salim Syed. Tysabri sales hit $451 million for the quarter, which were down 1% year over year and up 2% sequentially, Syed pointed out.
Biogen's overall annual revenue, which peaked at $14.4 billion in 2019, was in decline each year until 2025 when it ticked upward by 2% to $9.9 billion. Now, with the Apellis acquisition and the positive momentum of its new products, the company is on track for another sales boost.
“This is a major shift for Biogen. Three and half years ago, when I came, we really were only visiting neurologists. We had a few products that we could still promote in MS and we had Spinraza," Viehbacher said. "We are now looking at visiting rheumatologist, dermatologists, nephrologists, outside the U.S. epileptologists, and [kidney] transplants. There’s been a significant growth in the breadth of our portfolio.”