Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) reported second-quarter 2026 total revenue of $2.7 billion, up 3% from a year earlier, as growth products and the recently completed acquisition of Apellis contributed to results. Core pharmaceutical revenue rose 4% year over year to $1.8 billion, while the company’s growth portfolio generated more than $1 billion in quarterly revenue, up 24% from the prior-year period.
Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher said Biogen’s growth portfolio now exceeds its legacy multiple sclerosis portfolio. He cited the rollout of high-dose SPINRAZA, the expansion of LEQEMBI IQLIK home dosing, and the addition of Apellis products SYFOVRE and EMPAVELI as key components of the company’s strategy to return to sustainable revenue growth.
Growth Products Lead Quarterly Performance
- SPINRAZA: Revenue was $402 million, up 2% year over year and 7% sequentially. Kramer said results reflected demand and stocking for the high-dose regimen in the U.S., partly offset by shipment timing in certain international markets.
- VUMERITY: Revenue was $197 million, down 7% year over year but up 10% sequentially. The year-over-year decline was partly attributed to inventory dynamics.
- LEQEMBI: In-market revenue was $184 million, increasing 15% year over year and 9% from the first quarter, supported by market growth in the U.S., Japan and China.
- SKYCLARYS: Revenue rose 29% year over year to $168 million. The drug is now available in 36 countries.
- ZURZUVAE: Revenue was $71 million, with Biogen noting continued underlying demand growth and a launch in Germany.
- TYSABRI: Revenue totaled $451 million, down 1% year over year and up 2% sequentially, despite biosimilar launches in the U.S. and Europe.
Alisha Alaimo, Biogen’s president of North America, said high-dose SPINRAZA is exceeding the original SPINRAZA launch in both start forms and new patient starts during its first 13 weeks. Most initial conversions have come from patients transitioning from the 12 mg regimen, though the company is also seeing new starts, including infants, and some patients switching back from oral therapy.
High-dose SPINRAZA requires two loading doses instead of four for the original formulation, a factor Alaimo said has supported patient interest. The company expects the initial conversion period to continue into early 2027, followed by greater emphasis on new patient starts and switchbacks.
Apellis Products and Integration Efforts
Biogen said the Apellis integration is progressing well. SYFOVRE, used in geographic atrophy, produced total quarterly revenue of $162 million, up 8% from both a year earlier and the prior quarter. Commercial injections increased 13% year over year. EMPAVELI revenue was $46 million, up 123% year over year and 12% sequentially, as its launch continued in C3G and primary IC-MPGN.
Alaimo said June was SYFOVRE’s strongest month since launch. She said Biogen has reduced free-drug use by roughly half by applying additional guardrails to patient assistance programs. The company is also preparing a direct-to-consumer campaign and anticipates that a prefilled syringe could improve physician workflow.
Biogen expects SYFOVRE and EMPAVELI combined to grow in the mid- to high-teens through at least 2028. Kramer said the company expects at least $250 million in annualized synergies by the end of 2027, largely through general and administrative and research-and-development expense optimization.
Pipeline Readouts and Development Plans
Head of Development Dr. Priya Singhal said Biogen is entering a multiyear registrational cycle with data expected from five studies across systemic lupus erythematosus, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, antibody-mediated rejection and Dravet syndrome.
Biogen expects phase III results from two TOPAZ studies of litifilimab in systemic lupus erythematosus during the fourth quarter of 2026. The company also accelerated the expected timing for phase III data from felzartamab in antibody-mediated rejection and litifilimab in cutaneous lupus to the first half of 2027.
Singhal said Biogen remains confident in the design of its lupus programs, which include efforts to manage placebo response and focus enrollment on patients with skin and joint involvement. The primary endpoint in the systemic lupus trials is SRI-4, with BICLA and patient-reported outcomes among key secondary assessments.
The company plans to present 52-week data from the phase II portion of the AMETHYST study of litifilimab in cutaneous lupus at the EADV Annual Conference later this year. Singhal said the presentation is expected to offer information on durability of response.
Biogen is also evaluating next steps for BIIB091, its non-covalent peripheral BTK inhibitor. Singhal said the phase II study showed proof of concept in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, but the company is assessing the program in light of the competitive landscape and has not made a decision on further development.
For felzartamab, Biogen expects data from the TRANSCEND trial in antibody-mediated rejection in the first half of 2027. The company described the study as a six-month, placebo-controlled, biopsy-driven trial followed by six months of maintenance. Biogen has also initiated the TRANSPIRE study in microvascular inflammation.
Guidance Updated Following Apellis Acquisition
Biogen raised its 2026 revenue outlook to a mid-single-digit percentage increase, compared with prior guidance for a mid-single-digit decrease. Kramer said the update reflects expected performance from growth products and TYSABRI, along with contributions from SYFOVRE and EMPAVELI.
The company now expects full-year non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $12 to $13. Guidance incorporates an anticipated $0.85 of dilution in 2026 from the Apellis transaction, primarily related to financing costs, as well as about $3 per share of impact from acquired in-process research and development and milestone charges.
Biogen generated $408 million of free cash flow in the second quarter and ended the period with $1.3 billion in cash and $6.8 billion in net debt. The Apellis acquisition was funded with $3.6 billion of balance-sheet cash and a $2 billion term loan. Biogen repaid $200 million of that loan during the quarter and expects to repay the remainder by the end of 2027.
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.
