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Sales of Biogen MS pill pick up steam overseas [Medical Marketing and Media](Medical Marketing and Media Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AFTER DEBUTING in April 2013 and becoming one of the most successful drug launches ever in the US, the MS treat- ment Tecfidera shows no sign of slowing down. Tecfidera boasted second-quarter sales of $700 million worldwide, handily beating analyst forecasts, Biogen Idec said. The MS pill's performance was the highlight of an upbeat earnings report from the bio- tech. "A fantastic quarter on all fronts," wrote ISI Group analyst Mark Schoenebaum in an inves- tor note about the April-June period. That news was followed by the August announcement that Biogen had received approval for Plegridy, a twice-a-month form of MS shot Avonex that will compete against the long- acting form of Teva's Copaxone. These interferon-based treat- ments are expected to continue to cede ground to orals. Tecfidera's initial quarter on the market saw domestic sales of $192 million, with an estimated $110 million coming from pent- up demand. Following the deci- sion by the European Medicines Agency last November to grant it regulatory data protection, analysts were concerned about how the drug would be received internationally. CEO George Scangos cautioned that the oral therapy could suffer from slow uptake outside the US, due to Novartis competitor Gilenya and Sanofi's Aubagio already having a head start overseas. Tecfidera's European tour appears to have brushed those worries aside. The earnings report shows that $115 million of the drug's worldwide sales came from outside the US. Germany is leading the charge, accounting for 75% of that revenue. "We now believe we are see- ing launch trajectories similar to US," said Schoenebaum in the investor note. The quarter's highlights weren't limited to the MS space, however. The drugmaker has the wind at its back with the recent approval of Eloctate, an extend- ed-release biologic which some analysts believe could upset the balance of power in the hemo- philia market. Overall, Biogen saw product revenue reach over $2 billion for the quarter, compared to $1.3 billion at this time last year, with R&D and SG&A costs rising along with it. MS infu- sion Tysabri saw a significant increase in sales, up 37% vs. the same quarter last year, to $533 million. Tysabri benefited in the second quarter from an agree- ment with the Italian National Medicines Agency, eliminating a reimbursement snag for the drug. The drugmaker also gave a small update on its MS antibody ANTI-LINGO-1, saying top-line data will be available in January 2015. The Phase-II drug targets LINGO-1, a protein expressed selectively in the central ner- vous system known to regulate myelination and regeneration. -Kevin McCaffrey Tecfidera has beaten its sales forecasts by a wide margin (c) 2014 Haymarket Media, Inc. |