Deena Beasley

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Biogen expects revenue from new products to exceed current sales by 2028 and sees no need to pursue additional business development deals, its chief executive said.

"The view among the analyst community is that the future of Biogen depends on what we do," CEO Chris Viehbacher told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of JPMorgan's annual shareholder meeting on Monday. The next deal, but we don’t share that view internally,” San Francisco Healthcare Conference.

On Friday, Biogen made an offer to acquire Sage Therapeutics, its marketing partner for a drug that treats postpartum depression. Last year, Sage shares fell about 76% after a series of clinical setbacks.

Vibach declined to comment on the deal, citing legal restrictions.

Biogen shares fell about 42% last year.

“While the deal may make financial sense for Biogen, we believe it will do little to change the company’s image,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said in a research , and additional revenue-generating transactions are needed to transform the company's growth profile," notes.

Viehbacher said Biogen "gains confidence" with its current pipeline, which includes amyloid-targeting Alzheimer's drug Leqembi and BIIB080, an experimental drug that targets the protein tau. Protein is another protein found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

"We are doubling down on our efforts to treat Alzheimer's disease," the CEO said, noting that the FDA is expected to submit an application for subcutaneous Leqembi this year and use the drug as a maintenance treatment.

He acknowledged that sales of Leqembi had not met the highest expectations but said the trajectory was stable and the company was adjusting its marketing strategy to target newly diagnosed patients.

Viehbacher said Biogen is also conducting late-stage studies of felzartamab in rare immune-related indications, including kidney transplant patients and an experimental lupus drug.

"It's hard to find assets worth paying... There are still some pretty high premium expectations in the market," he said.

The CEO said Biogen has "a team" at this week's healthcare conference. At last year's conference, the teams looked at 100 companies and ultimately struck two deals: a partnership with Neomorph to explore molecular glue degraders and the acquisition of Human Immunology Biosciences.

(Reporting by Deena Beasley)