- Company name
- Biogen
- Sector
- Biotechnology
- About
- Biogen Inc. (Biogen) is a biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It sells medicines for neurology, rare disease and immune disease. Its multiple sclerosis (MS) products are Tecfidera, Vumerity, Avonex, Plegridy and Tysabri. Its rare disease products are Spinraza, Skyclarys and Qalsody. It shares the revenue of Leqembi, a medicine for Alzheimer's disease, with Eisai, and it sells Zurzuvae, a medicine for postpartum depression, with Supernus. Syfovre and Empaveli, which are specialized immunology products, came with the purchase of Apellis in May 2026. Biogen also sells biosimilars and receives revenue from anti-CD20 therapeutic programs. In Q3 2026, revenue was $2,804 million, and the Growth Portfolio gave $1.26 billion of it. Christopher A. Viehbacher is President and Chief Executive Officer. The shares trade on Nasdaq in US dollars.
- Thesis
- The market must decide whether the new products of Biogen can replace its falling MS business. MS product revenue fell 13% to $919 million in Q3 2026, and Vumerity sales fell because of US formulary changes. The Growth Portfolio rose 49% to $1.26 billion in the same quarter, with help from the Apellis products. Biogen paid $5.3 billion for Apellis in May 2026, so total borrowings rose to $7.7 billion. Charges for acquired research also cut reported profit: Q3 2026 had $284 million of them, and GAAP diluted EPS was a loss of $0.14. For the price to hold or rise, three things must be true. The growth products, which are Spinraza, Leqembi, Skyclarys and the Apellis products, must grow faster than the MS products fall. The Phase 3 studies of litifilimab in lupus must give positive data. Borrowings must fall as cash comes in, and new deal charges must stay small. The next tests are the TOPAZ-1 and TOPAZ-2 data in the first half of December 2026 and the Q4 2026 report in February 2027.
- Risks
- MS revenue keeps falling. MS product revenue was $919 million in Q3 2026, against $1,062 million a year earlier, and Vumerity sales fell 11% because of US formulary changes. The Growth Portfolio must grow enough to cover this loss.
Late-stage studies can fail. Biogen has Phase 3 readouts for litifilimab, felzartamab and zorevunersen over the next 12 months, and it spent $574 million on R&D in Q3 2026. A failed study loses that spend and the sales it was meant to bring.
Debt rose with the Apellis purchase. Total borrowings were $7,692.0 million at September 30, 2026, against $6,286.8 million at December 31, 2025, and interest expense was $87.5 million in Q3 2026, against $67.4 million a year earlier.
Deal charges make profit uneven. Acquired IPR&D, upfront and milestone expense was $284 million in Q3 2026 and about $3.20 per share in the 2026 guidance. Biogen does not forecast these charges.
US drug price rules and tariffs can cut revenue. The 10-Q names the Inflation Reduction Act, most-favored-nation pricing and new tariffs as risks.
Biogen depends on partners for part of its sales. Eisai records Leqembi sales and Biogen takes 50% of its net revenue, and Biogen pays profit shares to Samsung Bioepis and Supernus.
- Balance sheet
- At September 30, 2026, Biogen had cash and cash equivalents of $1,303.9 million and total borrowings of $7,692.0 million, which is net debt of about $6.4 billion. At December 31, 2025, cash and marketable securities were $4,247.6 million and borrowings were $6,286.8 million. Cash fell and borrowings rose because of the Apellis purchase. Biogen paid for it with cash, marketable securities, a $2.0 billion term loan and a $400.0 million draw on its revolving credit facility. It repaid the revolver draw in June 2026, $600.0 million of the term loan, and $496.7 million of debt that it took over from Apellis. Notes payable and the term loan were $7,292.0 million, so about $400 million of borrowings fall due within 12 months. The senior notes mature from 2030 to 2055. Interest expense was $237.4 million for nine months.
As of Sep 30, 2026.
- Checkpoints
- Dec 2026 (estimate): TOPAZ-1 and TOPAZ-2: litifilimab in lupus. Pending. Watch: Both Phase 3 studies of litifilimab in systemic lupus erythematosus meet their main goal, and this passes; a miss in either study fails.
Feb 5, 2027 (estimate): Q4 2026 results: Growth Portfolio revenue. Pending. Watch: Growth Portfolio revenue rises again from Q3 2026 and total revenue grows as guided, and this passes; a fall in total revenue fails.
Jun 2027 (estimate): Felzartamab Phase 3 in antibody-mediated rejection. Pending. Watch: The Phase 3 study of felzartamab meets its main goal in the first half of 2027, and this passes; a miss or a delay fails.
- Recent events
- Oct 28, 2026: Biogen reported Q3 2026 results. Total revenue was $2,804 million, up 11%. Growth Portfolio revenue was $1.26 billion, up 49%. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.62, after $284 million of acquired IPR&D, upfront and milestone expense that was mostly for the purchase of RayThera. GAAP diluted EPS was a loss of $0.14.
Oct 28, 2026: Biogen raised the low end of its 2026 non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance. The reported range is now $12.20 to $13.00, from $12.00 to $13.00. Underlying EPS, which leaves out about $3.20 of acquired IPR&D charges and about $0.55 of dilution from Apellis, is $15.95 to $16.75. The company expects revenue to rise by a mid-single digit percentage in 2026.
Oct 28, 2026: Biogen said it expects top-line data from the TOPAZ-1 and TOPAZ-2 Phase 3 studies of litifilimab in systemic lupus erythematosus in the first half of December 2026. Data for litifilimab in cutaneous lupus and for felzartamab in antibody-mediated rejection are expected in the first half of 2027, and data for zorevunersen in Dravet syndrome in Q3 2027.
Jul 1, 2026: Biogen said that its Q2 2026 results would include about $164 million of acquired IPR&D, upfront and milestone expense, or about $0.95 per share. It also said that Q3 2026 would include $290 million to $320 million of such expense, or $1.75 to $1.95 per share, for deals that had not closed.
May 14, 2026: Biogen completed the purchase of Apellis for $5.3 billion. It paid with cash and marketable securities, a $2.0 billion term loan and a $400.0 million draw on its revolving credit facility. It repaid the $496.7 million of debt that it took over from Apellis and, in June, the revolver draw.
Apr 29, 2026: Biogen agreed to buy the rights of TJ Biopharma to felzartamab in greater China for $100.0 million upfront. Biogen now owns the worldwide rights to felzartamab.