Biogen Expects New Launches to Exceed Current Sales by 2028
Biogen, a biotechnology company, expects revenue from new launches to exceed its current sales by 2028, according to CEO Chris Viehbacher. The company does not feel the need to chase additional business development deals, Viehbacher said in an interview with Reuters during the annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.
Biogen has offered to buy Sage Therapeutics, its marketing partner on a drug to treat postpartum depression, but declined to comment on the transaction due to legal restrictions. The company’s shares have dropped about 42% over the last year.
Viehbacher expressed confidence in Biogen’s current pipeline, including amyloid-targeting Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi and BIIB080, an experimental drug that targets tau, a different protein found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The company is shifting its marketing strategy for Leqembi to target newly-diagnosed patients and is expected to file for FDA approval this year.
Biogen also has late-stage studies underway with felzartamab in rare immune-related indications and experimental lupus drugs. Viehbacher acknowledged that Leqembi sales have not lived up to expectations, but said the trajectory is solid.
The CEO stated that it is hard to find assets worth paying for, citing the expectation of high premiums in the market. Biogen has teams at the healthcare conference this week, which is similar to last year’s meeting where the company looked at 100 companies and ended up doing two deals.
