Biogen’s third quarter revenues beat out Wall Street estimates in what CEO Chris Viehbacher called “one of these quarters where the numbers almost just speak for themselves.”
The Massachusetts biotech hit $2.8 billion in revenue for the quarter, its best quarterly earnings since 2020 and an 11% boost year over year.
The rapid sales growth is largely a result of Syfovre and Empaveli, two drugs Biogen acquired through its $5.6 billion buyout of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in May. The company’s integration has gone faster than expected, according to Viehbacher.
Sales of Syfovre, an eye injection for geographic atrophy, were up 27% to $191 million in the third quarter, while those of Empaveli, a kidney disease treatment, soared 92% from last year to $52 million.
“That’s already a run rate of $1 billion,” Viehbacher said of the two drugs’ performance during an earnings call Wednesday.
But acquisitions were also the reason for the company’s $20.6 million loss for the quarter, down from a $466 million profit during the same period last year. Biogen’s August acquisition of biotech RayThera came with one-time R&D expenses of $284 million, and the company also reported increased spending linked to clinical trials and Apellis operations.
Biogen’s pre-Apellis growth portfolio also contributed, bringing in $1.02 billion, which marked a 21% increase year over year. Sales of Alzheimer’s disease treatment, Leqembi, recorded by Eisai, were up 67% to $202 million. Skyclarys, a treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia, hit $178 million in sales, up 34% from last year. And postpartum depression treatment Zurzuvae was up 53% to 84 million.
Spinraza took the lead as Biogen’s top earner with a 23% year-over-year sales increase to $461 million, bypassing legacy multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, which brought in $437 million. Spinraza’s success was largely due to the rapid uptake of the spinal muscular atrophy drug’s new high-dose formulation, Biogen said.
Together with Empaveli and Syfovre, Biogen’s growth portfolio hit 50% growth year over year and now makes up 63% of pharmaceutical revenue, allowing the company to offset declining revenues from its aging multiple sclerosis meds.
“Fifty percent growth is extremely strong, and we expect to return to top-line growth in 2026,” Viehbacher said.
From a pipeline perspective, Biogen is making a concerted effort with both its late- and early-stage programs.
Viehbacher said the company expects five registrational readouts in the next 12 months starting with two phase 3 lupus trials set for mid-December. He believes Biogen could leverage its experience building out the MS market to do the same for the underdeveloped lupus market.
“Four years ago, we really only called on neurologists, and now our regional teams are looking at retina specialists, nephrologists, transplant nephrologists … dermatologists and rheumatologists,” he said. “We’re dramatically changing Biogen.”