Biogen Revenue Jumps 11% as Growth Portfolio Surges; Deal Charge Drives GAAP Loss

Biogen said it has "returned to growth," posting an 11% jump in third-quarter revenue as its newer drugs, including products from its Apellis acquisition, more than offset continued declines in its multiple sclerosis franchise.

Total revenue rose to $2.804 billion from $2.535 billion a year earlier, according to the earnings release Biogen filed with an 8-K on Wednesday. Revenue from the company's Growth Portfolio climbed 49% to $1.26 billion, or 63% of core pharmaceutical revenue, helped by the first full quarter of contributions from the acquired Apellis products.

A deal charge pushes GAAP into the red

Biogen posted a GAAP loss of 14 cents a share, compared with a profit of $3.17 a year earlier. Non-GAAP diluted EPS fell to $2.62 from $4.81.

Both measures absorbed $284 million of acquired in-process research and development, upfront and milestone expense, mainly tied to the acquisition of RayThera Inc., versus $2 million a year earlier. Because that charge was not tax-deductible, Biogen's GAAP effective tax rate came in at negative 128.5%.

Guidance floor moves up

Biogen raised the low end of its full-year 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $12.20, from $12.00, keeping the top at $13.00. The company cited ongoing business strength and less dilution from the Apellis deal, which it now expects to cost about 55 cents a share, down from about 85 cents.

It continues to expect full-year revenue to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage from 2025.

"Our third quarter results demonstrate that Biogen has returned to growth," President and CEO Christopher Viehbacher said in the release.

Where the growth came from

Several of Biogen's newer medicines posted double-digit gains:

• Rare disease drug Spinraza rose 23% to $461 million, as conversion to a high-dose regimen continued to beat company expectations
• Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi grew 67% to $202 million in global in-market sales recorded by partner Eisai
• Syfovre, acquired with Apellis, rose 27% to $191 million
• Skyclarys climbed 34% to $178 million

Multiple sclerosis revenue fell 13% to $919 million, with Vumerity down 11%, which the company attributed mainly to U.S. formulary dynamics. Biosimilars revenue declined 16% to $166 million.

Spending, balance sheet and pipeline

Non-GAAP R&D expense rose 31% to $567 million and non-GAAP SG&A increased 23% to $730 million, reflecting clinical trial spending, the addition of Apellis and support for product launches.

Free cash flow was about $600 million. Biogen ended September with about $1.3 billion in cash and $7.7 billion of debt, or net debt of about $6.4 billion.

The company expects top-line data from two Phase 3 studies of litifilimab in lupus, TOPAZ-1 and TOPAZ-2, in the first half of December 2026, with further Phase 3 readouts planned through the third quarter of 2027.

Biogen scheduled its earnings call for 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

Sources

1. Biogen Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0000875045-26-000094)
2. Biogen Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0000875045-26-000096)

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