By Deena Beasley

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Biogen expects revenue from new launches to exceed its current sales by 2028 and doesn’t feel the need to pursue additional business development deals, the company’s CEO said.

“The view out there in the analyst community is that the future of Biogen depends on the next deal we do, and that’s not a view we share within Biogen,” CEO Chris Viehbacher told Reuters in an interview this week. on Monday during the annual JP Morgan. San Francisco Health Care Conference.

Last Friday, Biogen offered to buy Sage Therapeutics, its marketing partner for a drug to treat postpartum depression. Sage saw its share price fall by around 76% last year after a series of clinical setbacks.

Viehbacher declined to comment on the transaction, citing legal restrictions.

Biogen shares have fallen about 42% over the past year.

“While the deal may make financial sense for Biogen, we believe it doesn’t change the company’s narrative much, and additional revenue-generating deals are needed to change the company’s growth profile,” said l BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman in a research. note

Viehbacher said Biogen “gained conviction” from the strength of its current pipeline, including the amyloid-targeting Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi and BIIB080, an experimental drug that targets tau, a different protein that found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

“We’re doubling down on Alzheimer’s,” the CEO said, noting that news is expected this year on an FDA filing for subcutaneous Leqembi and the drug’s use as maintenance therapy.

He acknowledged that Leqembi’s sales have not met the highest expectations, but said the track record is strong and the company is changing its marketing strategy to target newly diagnosed patients.

Biogen also has late-stage studies with felzartamab in rare indications related to the immune system, including kidney transplant patients and experimental lupus drugs, Viehbacher said.

“It’s hard to find assets that are worth paying for … there’s still an expectation of quite high premiums in the market,” he said.

The CEO said Biogen has “teams of people” at this week’s healthcare conference. At last year’s meeting, these teams looked at 100 companies and ended up making two deals: a collaboration to explore molecular glue degraders with Neomorph and the acquisition of Human Immunology Biosciences.

(Reporting by Deena Beasley)