Biogen and Eisai’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi is off to a slow start in the US. But it’s big in Japan.
On Friday, Eisai revealed in an investor presentation that Japanese revenue accounted for 1.5 billion out of 6.3 billion yen ($40 million) in total quarterly revenue for the drug. Those sales of Leqembi, which Eisai described as “ahead of the business plan,” represent five-fold growth from the previous quarter and took up a larger portion of global revenue.
The majority of Leqembi’s revenue comes from the US, where the partners are still scaling up on commercial infrastructure and trying to make headway with patients and prescribers.
Biogen and Eisai have a long way to prove that Leqembi will become the blockbuster therapy that they predicted. Despite the relatively modest sales, Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher said during a media call Thursday the drug “is on the right path now.” Meanwhile, Eisai reiterated its revenue forecast of 56.5 billion yen, or $380 million at current exchange rates, over fiscal year 2024 — which analysts previously called “considerably higher” than expectations.
Around 800 doctors in Japan have prescribed Leqembi since the fiscal year began in April, the company wrote, with about 70 doctors prescribing to more than 10 patients. But Eisai could soon face competition from Eli Lilly, whose own amyloid drug donanemab is set to be approved in the country after a health ministry panel voted for it.
In the US, the company didn’t break down actual numbers, but said the number of medical institutions ordering Leqembi increased by approximately 40% while average number of orders per institution rose about 30%.
The commercial structure in the US now stands at around 450 positions between Biogen and Eisai personnel, the Japanese drugmaker added.
“We are aiming at further expansion,” CFO Mitsuru Shomon said in a Friday briefing call.
There’s one other place Eisai is looking to for expansion: Since launching Leqembi in China in late June, the company said, the drug has been adopted at 148 hospitals across 57 cities, bringing in revenue of 0.2 billion yen (just over $1 million).