Announcing first-quarter results, Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher admitted that tariffs are “a new topic for us,” but said he does not expect major impacts—at least for 2025.
“In 35 years in this industry, I’ve never had to spend as much time as we as a team have on tariffs in the first quarter,” Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher told investors on a Thursday morning earnings call.
Announcing first quarter results, the chief executive addressed what’s been on every investor’s mind as the reporting period has worn on. “It’s a new topic for us,” he said, noting the complexity of navigating the impact of tariffs, which have been threatened against the pharmaceutical industry but not yet defined by the president.
In an attempt to anticipate the potential impact of the import taxes, analysts have been using Biogen’s tax rate as a surrogate for determining the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Viehbacher said. But he asserted that the tax rate is not a useful proxy for Biogen, because 75% of its 2024 U.S. product sales were generated from products that are manufactured in the country.
Biogen actually exports more than it imports, the CEO said. In contrast to its peers, Biogen brought in 55% of its overall 2024 revenue from countries outside the U.S., Viehbacher said. Many pharma companies have a mix of about 60–80% of revenue coming from the U.S. “We are more of a U.S.-based company, and always have been, and actually, we’re quite proud of that,” the chief executive said.
“Biogen is a whole lot more diversified, and that’s really a function of the products that we have,” he added.
So for now, Viehbacher said Biogen does not expect major impacts this year, even if all the tariffs announced on April 22 by the administration were to suddenly apply to the pharmaceutical industry. He credited the company’s supply chain team for building out an inventory of products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and materials.
CFO Robin Kramer explained that Biogen’s current guidance of $14.50 to $15.50 considers current tariff impacts, including retaliatory taxes from China. But the guidance does not include what could come.
The guidance also includes a $165 million upfront payment for a licensing deal with Stoke Therapeutics to develop an epilepsy antisense oligonucleotide. The deal could total $385 million.
Deal Position Shifts
Viehbacher has urged investors to be patient on future deals over the past few quarters, insisting there is no desperation among the business development team to execute. He admitted on Thursday, however, that things have shifted in the past four to six weeks.
Companies with low valuations that had been holding out are struggling to get financing, making deal conversations easier to come by, the CEO said. This is particularly true for companies looking to sign licensing or partnership agreements right now.
“Companies will be able to provide some of the funding as some of the venture capital and some of the other sources of funding dry up for other companies, and so there are opportunities in there,” Viehbacher said. “It still requires an awful lot of patience and discipline to work your way through and find companies that work together.”
He continued: “Biogen, just because of our own biotech roots, is a company that knows how to do collaborations, and I think can be a trusted partner in this.”
Biogen’s Eisai-partnered Alzheimer’s disease medicine Leqembi met analyst expectations for the quarter. Biogen overall reported revenue of $2.43 billion, which was above William Blair’s estimate of $2.3 billion. Leqembi contributed $96 million, including U.S. sales of $52 million, representing 10% growth. This is right on track with Jefferies’ expected U.S. sales of $51 million.
Leqembi is now in a tough market race with Eli Lilly’s Kisunla (donanemab). Viehbacher brushed off concerns about a neck-and-neck battle, instead saying there’s plenty of unaddressed patient need for both medicines.
“I think the market ultimately just gets split between us and donanemab. The most important thing for both Lilly, I think, and Biogen and Eisai, is that we start to really expand this market,” Viehbacher said. “When you consider the number of patients who desperately need treatment, we’re still only treating a small fraction, and I think that’s really got to be the focus of all the companies in this space . . . to really ensure that more patients benefit from these disease-modifying treatments.”
Lilly, which also reported first quarter earnings Thursday morning, reported sales of $21 million for Kisunla. The drug is only approved in the U.S.
