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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 [a] 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 rheumatologists, dermatologists, nephrologists, outside the U.S. epileptologists, and [kidney] transplants. There’s been a significant growth in the breadth of our portfolio.”

Biogen says its $5.6-billion Apellis acquisition is already paying off. Chief Financial Officer Robin Kramer told analysts during its second-quarter earnings call Wednesday that Apellis' targeted complement therapies — Syfovre for geographic atrophy (GA) and Empaveli for C3 glomerulopathy and paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria — have generated a combined $128 million in revenues since the deal closed in May.That performance, plus other drugs in Biogen's growth portfolio, prompted the company to raise its full-year guidance from a mid-single-digit revenue decline to a mid-single-digit increase.Over the entire quarter, Syfovre posted $162 million in revenue, which is up 8% year-over-year, with injections up 13%. Empaveli reached $46 million, a gain 123% year-over-year. "The Apellis acquisition accelerates our return to growth," Kramer said. "We expect Syfovre and Empaveli on a combined basis to grow in the mid- to high-teens through at least 2028."Alisha Alaimo, the drugmaker's North America president, noted that when Syfovre and Empaveli landed at Biogen, both had been using "very similar" launch plans, but she suggested Biogen ditched Apellis' playbook. "We really tailor-make our launch plans... it's not templated."Alaimo said Biogen put some guardrails in place for a programme that gives Syfovre away to patients who can't afford it, cutting the number of people receiving the drug free of charge roughly in half. Meanwhile, improving physician sentiment — aided by five-year efficacy data — is driving new prescribers and patients. "The month of June was the best month in [Syfovre's] history," she added.Leqembi momentumIn neurology, quarterly revenue for Biogen's Eisai-partnered Alzheimer's disease therapy Leqembi was $184 million, up 15% year-over-year, boosted by growth in key markets, including the US, Japan and China. The drug's subcutaneous formulation, sold as Leqembi IQLIK, was first approved last year for once-weekly maintenance dosing, and earlier this month was also cleared as an at-home starting dose (see – Physician Views Results: Leqembi's at-home jab shakes amyloid's slow-drip strategy).IQLIK for induction will be available by the end of August. "We've already had some demand. Of course, it's not getting filled yet, but they are put into a queue," Alaimo said.Eisai is working with the payers on Medicare Part D access, and they won't know the specifics of Part D coverage terms for next year until several months from now. However, even if some Part D plans decide not to contract for Leqembi, Alaimo said patients aren't necessarily locked out because doctors can request a medical exception."When we pull the data to look at the medical exception rate for the product, it is quite high, higher than most other therapeutic areas," she said, "and so even when a physician does put that through, the grant approval rate is high, meaning that they are getting the product for the patient."Overall sales in the quarter climbed 3% to $2.7 billion, which came in ahead of analyst projections of $2.5 billion. Revenues from its rare disease portfolio were $602 million, a gain of 11% year-over-year, though sales of its multiple sclerosis products fell 13% to $963 million.Regarding specific products, Spinraza sales reached $402 million, up 2% year-over-year, driven by demand and stocking for its newly approved high-dose regimen. Friedreich's ataxia medicine Skyclarys ($168 million, +29%) and post-partum depression drug Zurzuvae ($71 million, +53%) each saw double-digit gains.