Biogen Idec’s (NASDAQ:BIIB) revenue soared to $2.0 billion in the fourth quarter, a 39 percent increase driven in part by the addition of Tecfidera, the latest product in the company’s multiple sclerosis drug portfolio.
Tecfidera, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last March, accounted for $398 million in revenue in the quarter. Cambridge, Mass-based Biogen’s top MS drug Avonex represented $751 million in sales, flat compared to the prior year. But Tysabri sales shot up 45 percent to $427 million, an increase that reflects Biogen now recording all of sales of that drug after completing its acquisition of full Tysabri rights from former partner Elan.
Tecfidera could soon join Avonex and Tysabri as RTP-manufactured products.
Biogen manufactures Avonex and Tysabri at its Research Triangle Park plant, where the company employs about 1,200 and is actively hiring for positions ranging from manufacturing and engineering to customer call center representatives and IT managers. In late 2012, Biogen reached an agreement to take over some manufacturing operations at the RTP site of drug maker Eisai. Biogen plans to manufacture Tecfidera at the site. The company says it is making “strong progress” in those manufacturing plans.
Biogen is also making progress on drug candidates in its pipeline. The company is planning for three drug launches this year and expects to report data this year for several compounds in early to mid-stage clinical trials in diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and lupus.
The results beat Wall Street estimates. The average revenue estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was $1.93 billion. Excluding certain items, Biogen’s earnings per share were $2.34, a 67 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. The average earnings estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was 2.28.
For the full year, Biogen’s revenue was $6.9 billion, up 26 percent compared to 2012. Tecfidera accounted for $876 million in sales its first year on the market. As a pill that offers an easier dosing option compared to the injectable drug Avonex and the intravenous infusion Tysabri, the drug is in line to become Biogen’s next blockbuster drug.
The United States accounted $846 million of Tecfidera’s sales last year. Sales in Canada and Australia added another $12 million in Tecfidera revenue. The global reach of the drug should increase in 2014. Biogen expects European approval for Tecfidera followed by a launch this year.
“2013 was a great year for Biogen Idec and the patients we serve,” CEO George Scangos said in a statement. “Our existing products continued to perform well and the rapid growth of Tecfidera – from launch to its position today as the number one prescribed oral MS therapy in the US – is a testament to our ability to develop and effectively bring new drugs to patients.”
Scangos is scheduled as a headline speaker at the CED Life Sciences Conference in Raleigh next month.
