(Reuters) - Drugmaker Biogen Inc’s (BIIB.O) quarterly revenue missed Wall Street expectations on Tuesday as sales of its fastest-growing drug Spinraza disappointed, partly due to lower uptake in the United States, while mounting competition hurt its top earner Tecfidera.
Shares of the company fell 2.6 percent to $252.50 before the bell.
Biogen is banking on spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza to take over as its top-selling product as multiple sclerosis medicine Tecfidera faces rival Roche AG’s (ROG.S) Ocrevus treatment.
But Spinraza, the first FDA-approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, earned $364 million in the quarter, falling short of analyst estimates of $381.55 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Meanwhile, Tecfidera brought in $987 million in revenue, missing estimates of $1.02 billion.
Lower Spinraza uptake in the United States and more patients transitioning from an induction dose to a lower-priced maintenance dose in the quarter weighed on the sales, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee told Reuters.
The list price for the drug, which treats a rare disease that affects nerve cells controlling muscle movement, is $750,000 for the first year of therapy and then drops to about $375,000 the year after, as patients require a lower dosing over time.
The number of patients receiving Spinraza grew 16 percent in the U.S. compared with the preceding quarter, Biogen said.
Net income attributable to Biogen shareholders rose to $1.17 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, or $5.54 per share, from $747.6 million or $3.46 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Biogen earned $6.05 per share, compared with analyst estimate of $5.94 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose 11.4 percent to $3.13 billion, compared with $3.16 billion estimate.
Reporting by Mrinalini Krothapalli and Tamara Mathias; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.