FDA approves Biogen’s Leqembi: the Alzheimer’s drug will ‘surprise to the upside’

Biogen Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) is trading down this morning even though the Food and Drug Administration awarded full approval to its Alzheimer’s drug – Leqembi.

Analyst shares his view on Leqembi

The antibody treatment that Biogen makes in collaboration with the Japanese pharmaceutical giant Eisai Co Ltd is the first one to have secured full approval for Alzheimer’s.

Leqembi was shown to slow cognitive decline related to early Alzheimer’s disease in a clinical trial by 27% over the course of 18 months. On CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street”, Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond said today:

About 80% of Alzheimer’s specialists view this as a major advance in treatment of Alzheimer’s. About 85% of doctors said they’d prescribe this drug. So, [it will] surprise to the upside.

He also dubbed Leqembi the best-in-class treatment for Alzheimer’s at least for the near future.

Medicare is now onboard with Leqembi

On Friday, Medicare also confirmed that it will now cover the antibody treatment for Alzheimer’s albeit with conditions.

The Piper Sandler analyst is also convinced that the benefits associated with Leqembi far outweigh the risks of brain swelling and bleeding.

I think the calculus that any patient or physician is going to make is that there’s definitely some stuff involved but at the end of the day, you’re avoiding a certain death sentence.

Raymond has a price target of $360 on the biotech stock that signals a near 30% upside from here. Biogen is expected to earn $3.7 a share in its current financial quarter versus $5.25 per share a year ago.

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