Lecanemab

As of 31 March 2024, Biogen’s net debt was approximately $5.5bn. Credit: PictureDesignSwiss via Shutterstock. Biogen has reported net income of $393.4m for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, an increase from $387.6m in the same period a year ago. For the quarter, the company reported a 7% decrease in revenue, down to $2.29bn from $2.46bn in the same quarter of 2023. The company highlighted the successful market launch of LEQEMBI, with global in-market sales reaching approximately $19m, nearly tripling since Q4 2023. The number of patients on therapy also witnessed a substantial increase, nearly 2.5 times higher since the end of 2023. Eisai leads the development and regulatory submissions for Leqembi globally. Both Eisai and Biogen are involved in commercialising and copromoting the product, with Eisai holding the final decision-making authority. See Also: Biogen gets grant for treatment of disorders responsive to ASK1 inhibition Novartis reports 25% increase in net income in Q1 2024 Biogen reported a net cash flow from operations of $553m for the first quarter of 2024. Capital expenditures amounted to $46m, resulting in a free cash flow of $507m. As of 31 March 2024, the company’s cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totalled approximately $1.1bn, with total debt at around $6.5bn. This resulted in approximately $5.5bn net debt. Biogen president and CEO Christopher Viehbacher said: “We are starting 2024 with an increase in earnings per share and solid execution across our new product launches along with the realisation of meaningful cost savings and margin improvement. “We see momentum building at a steady pace for Leqembi. In particular, 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. “In rare disease, the US launch of Skyclarys is advancing well and with the EU launch underway, we are beginning to realise the value of the Reata transaction.” Despite an overall revenue decline anticipated in the low- to mid-single-digit percentage range, Biogen expects its core pharmaceutical revenue to remain relatively stable in 2024 compared to 2023.

Biogen already signaled a foray into rare disease last year, where CEO Chris Viehbacher said the company has “tremendous commercial capability.” To be a better neuroscience company, Biogen is going to have to diversify—outside of the therapeutic area that has in recent years defined the company. “We always call ourselves a neuroscience company, but the reality of neuroscience is that this is a high-risk area,” CEO Chris Viehbacher said on the drug developer’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday morning. And so Biogen will be focused on business development outside of the neuroscience arena, which in turn, will support the expensive, lengthy trials required of the beat. “While we remain committed to neuroscience, my personal view is that is not diversified enough for a company of our size,” the CEO said. Biogen already signaled a foray into rare disease last year, where Viehbacher said the company has “tremendous commercial capability.” Thanks to the slow buildout of Leqembi in Alzheimer’s disease, Biogen knows a thing or two about launching medicines in difficult areas where diagnosis is a challenge and hurdles with payers are rampant. Viehbacher also sees further potential for expansion in multiple sclerosis. “We are very well placed in neurology … but the reality is that we sit there with programs that are very difficult to predict, very expensive, very long-running. And when you actually look at the ability to do external deals, that field is also very narrow. There's just not that many people working in the CNS space,” Viehbacher said. “So we're by no means abandoning it. The fact that we go after these really tough diseases is really a source of pride within Biogen.” He continued: “But the reality is we need to have more predictable results out of R&D.” Biogen's industry peers have found plenty to buy in the space. Bristol Myers Squibb bought Karuna Therapeutics and its schizophrenia med KarXT for $14 billion while AbbVie picked up CNS-focused Cerevel Therapeutics for $8.7 billion, all at the end of 2023.  Speaking of deals, Biogen is unlikely to take on a huge acquisition this year, given the company’s balance sheet, the CEO said. “If something really extraordinary came along, you’d look at it,” he said. Chief Financial Officer Michael McDonnell said the balance sheet is “in a very good spot” in terms of net debt for the first quarter. He says there’s about $4 billion to $5 billion to play with for an acquisition target. In 2025 or beyond, that number could grow. As for the pipeline, the executives had little to report with respect to concrete data, but Viehbacher promised more to come as three key readouts draw closer. A big one is Biogen’s anti-tau agent for Alzheimer’s disease called BIIB080, followed by phase 3 assets dapirolizumab pegol and litifilimab, both for systemic lupus erythematosus. Biogen has developed some tough go-no-go criteria to ensure those programs are only advanced if they prove promising, said Priya Singhal, M.D., head of development. “I think the next job is really now to build out the pipeline,” Viehbacher said. “We want to diversify our business a little bit more than we have in the past.”