Biogen 1st-qtr disappoints, despite 70% profits hike

US biotech major Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) reported today that first quarter of 2015 net profit rocketed 71% to $822.5 million, or $3.49 per share, but still disappointed, with the firm’s shares falling 3.3% in pre-market trading and were down 6.1% at $404.12 midmorning..

Non-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income attributable to Biogen for the first quarter was $900 million, an increase of 53%. Excluding special items, Biogen earned $3.82 per share, an increase of 55%, but significantly less than the average analyst estimate of $3.91 per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue rose 20% to $2.55 billion, also missing Wall Street's projections of $2.66 billion.

“In the first quarter, we continued to gain share in the MS [multiple sclerosis] market and we believe that our MS product portfolio is well positioned to provide patients the breadth of choices that they need,” said chief executive George Scangos. “While we saw moderating patient growth of our oral MS therapy Tecfidera [dimethyl fumarate] in the USA and Germany, the launch of Plegridy [peginterferon beta-1a] continued to go well, and we have seen continued strong performance from Tysabri [natalizumab]. We believe that our portfolio offers patients leading choices among oral, interferon, and high-efficacy therapies, and we look forward to continued growth in our global market share,” Dr Scangos added.