July 29 (Reuters) - Biogen topped Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue on Wednesday as growth from its rare-disease medicines outweighed declining sales of its older multiple sclerosis drugs, sending its shares up nearly 5%.
On an adjusted basis, it earned $3.60 per share, above analysts' expectation of $2.95 per share. Quarterly revenue came in at $2.74 billion, above an estimate of $2.46 billion.
Growth products and guidance drive outlook
Investors are closely tracking if recent deals and newer products including its Alzheimer's drug Leqembi can reignite growth and help the company navigate mounting competition and pricing pressure across its aging multiple sclerosis portfolio.
Biogen cut its 2026 adjusted per-share profit forecast to between $12 and $13 from between $14.25 and $15.25 earlier, reflecting a $3.85 per share impact from acquisition-related charges.
The $5.6 billion buyout of Apellis Pharmaceuticals earlier this year gave Biogen a foothold in kidney disease treatment and access to two approved rare-disease drugs.
Biogen's marketed growth products, including rare-disease drugs Skyclarys and Spinraza together with the Apellis drugs, are "already in themselves enough to help Biogen get back to a growth story," CEO Chris Viehbacher said in a call with analysts.
He said the company's promising late-stage pipeline, including experimental lupus drug litifilimab and kidney-disease drug felzartamab, now comes "on top of a growing basis instead of a stable basis."
Rare-disease sales rise as multiple sclerosis revenue falls
Sales from its rare-disease portfolio rose 11% year-over-year to $602 million.
Global sales of Leqembi, developed with Eisai, rose 15% from a year earlier to about $184 million after a tempered launch due to cost, side effects and efficacy concerns.
The company now expects full-year revenue to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage from 2025, compared with its previous forecast for a mid-single-digit percentage decline.
Sales of its multiple sclerosis drugs fell 13% year-over-year to $963 million.
Biogen's "base business continues to show better-than-expected resilience into a more catalyst-rich next 12 to 18 months," RBC Capital analysts said.
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