Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) executives said the company ended 2025 “slightly above the upper end” of its guidance, pointing to continued momentum in newer products and a late-stage pipeline that has expanded significantly over the past year. Management also laid out 2026 expectations, including a mid-single-digit revenue decline driven by multiple sclerosis (MS) pressures, partially offset by growth products, alongside non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance of $15.25 to $16.25.
2025 performance: growth products expand as MS remains resilient
Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher said Biogen’s “growth products” generated $3.3 billion in fiscal 2025, up 19%, and the company has now added Vumerity to that category given it is “about the only branded medicine left” in the oral MS segment. Viehbacher also highlighted that four products launched since 2023—Leqembi, Skyclarys, Zurzuvae, and Qalsody—are generating “around $1 billion” in revenue.
Kramer said results reflected $222 million of IPR&D charges tied to fourth-quarter transactions—license agreements with Vanqua Bio and Deira Therapeutics and the acquisition of Alcyone Therapeutics—representing a $1.26 impact on EPS. GAAP operating income was also impacted by roughly $180 million of one-time charges related to litigation and other matters.
On cash generation, Kramer said Biogen delivered $2.1 billion in free cash flow in 2025 and ended the year with $4.2 billion in cash and marketable securities and $2 billion of net debt.
Leqembi: maintenance persistence, blood-based diagnostics, and iClick milestones
Viehbacher said Leqembi remains the market leader, with “over 60%” share of the anti-amyloid therapy market based on total prescriptions, emphasizing that Leqembi has a maintenance indication. He also discussed persistence, noting company data suggest “about a 70% persistency” for patients continuing therapy after plaque removal.
Kramer reported Leqembi fourth-quarter in-market sales booked by ASI of approximately $134 million, up 10% versus the prior quarter and 54% year-over-year.
Management repeatedly underscored the importance of the iClick subcutaneous option. Viehbacher said iClick was introduced in October and is reimbursed under Medicare Part D, but “we won’t have that reimbursed fully until 01/01/2027.” He added that patients can request formulary exemptions and that, based on what the company has heard, “virtually everybody” requesting one appears to be receiving it, though Biogen does not have clear data.
The company’s priority review for iClick initiation is a key near-term catalyst, with Viehbacher reiterating a May 24 PDUFA date. He framed iClick initiation as potentially changing the competitive dynamic by eliminating infusion logistics, which could be meaningful given the imbalance between new diagnoses and specialist capacity (roughly 500,000 new Alzheimer’s diagnoses per year versus about 13,000 neurologists, as he described).
In Q&A, management said Leqembi sales growth in 2026 is expected to remain “pretty much continued sequential quarter-on-quarter growth,” supported by increased use of blood-based diagnostics. Viehbacher estimated 10% to 15% of neurologists are using blood-based tests today, a figure he expects to grow, and contrasted the cost of PET scans (about $5,000) with a blood test (around $140). He suggested potential acceleration later in the year and into 2027 depending on reimbursement and uptake of subcutaneous administration.
Pipeline focus: lupus, nephrology, and high-risk neuroscience readouts
Head of Development Dr. Priya Singal said Biogen has “rebuilt and transformed” its development pipeline, with many “late-stage, high-scientific conviction opportunities” added in the last 12 months. She said 2026 begins “a multi-year registrational data flow” and highlighted expected registrational readouts in the next 18 months for litifilimab in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), and felzartamab in antibody-mediated rejection (AMR).
Singal also pointed to external validation for key programs, including priority review for Leqembi iClick initiation and breakthrough therapy designation for litifilimab in CLE. She noted the company has presented data at multiple medical congresses and said pivotal Spinraza high-dose data was published in Nature Medicine.
Viehbacher and Singal described several notable pipeline milestones and expectations:
- Litifilimab: TOPAZ-2 accelerated, with an SLE readout expected by the end of 2026 and CLE timing discussed as mid-year next year. In response to investor questions about “high conviction,” Singal cited the BDCA2 mechanism targeting plasmacytoid dendritic cells and type 1 interferon signaling, and referenced proof-of-concept results from the LILAC study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. She said the phase 3 primary endpoint is SRI-4.
- Felzartamab (AMR): Singal said the company will focus on the primary endpoint while evaluating secondary endpoints, emphasizing that the phase 2 proof-of-concept study was small but showed a “magnitude of effect of greater than 80%.” She added Biogen is evaluating other transplant settings and is initiating a “sister indication trial” in microvascular inflammation.
- Neuroscience pre-POC: Management expects data around mid-year for BIIB122 in Parkinson’s disease and BIIB080 in early Alzheimer’s disease. On BIIB080, Viehbacher said the key questions are how long tau reduction must be sustained to affect cognition and what the safety profile looks like; Singal added the company will evaluate tau PET, fluid biomarkers, clinical trends, and pre-specified sub-studies across multiple doses and regimens.
Spinraza and rare disease: high-dose rollout and expectations
Viehbacher said Biogen has launched high-dose Spinraza in Japan and described early signs as “going ahead of expectations” on adoption and “seeing some switchbacks.” Europe was described as “next up,” and the company reiterated an April PDUFA date for high-dose Spinraza in the U.S.
Kramer reported fourth-quarter global Spinraza revenue of $356 million, with U.S. revenue of $169 million (up year-over-year) and ex-U.S. revenue of $188 million impacted by shipment timing. Full-year Spinraza revenue was down 2% year-over-year, which management characterized as resilient in a competitive market.
2026 guidance: EPS growth targeted, revenue expected to decline
Biogen guided to 2026 non-GAAP diluted EPS of $15.25 to $16.25. Kramer said total revenue is expected to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage versus 2025, reflecting competitive pressures in MS that are “partially offset by increased revenue from our growth products.” The company expects MS revenue excluding Vumerity to decline by a mid-teens percentage year-over-year.
On expenses, Kramer said Biogen plans to keep core operating expenses in 2026 “roughly consistent” with 2025 while making “critical investments” in pre-launch activities for lupus and nephrology. She added that first-quarter expense is expected to be about 10% higher than the prior-year first quarter due to spend phasing.
In Q&A, management discussed capital deployment and said share repurchases were “not out of the question,” but the current priority is investing in growth and pursuing business development to support long-term value creation.
Elsewhere, Kramer addressed quarterly dynamics for Skyclarys outside the U.S., noting approximately $12 million of net pricing adjustments in the fourth quarter, and said Biogen expects an inventory build in the U.S. to be drawn down in the first quarter of 2026. Management also said Zurzuvae will see a “highly selective rollout” in Europe due to pricing considerations, starting with “about three or four countries” rather than all markets.
About Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)
Biogen Inc is a multinational biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and delivering therapies for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company has a longstanding emphasis on neuroscience, with research and commercial activities spanning multiple therapeutic areas including multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease. Biogen was founded in 1978 and has grown into a global biopharmaceutical firm with operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Japan and other international markets.
The company’s marketed portfolio has historically included several well-known therapies for multiple sclerosis such as Avonex, Tysabri and Tecfidera, and it has pursued treatments for rare neurological conditions and genetic neuromuscular disorders.
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