Biogen Alzheimer’s drug label ‘essentially best case,’ says UBS

UBS analyst Colin Bristow says the FDA approval of Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi, making it the second disease-modifying therapy approved for Alzheimer’s disease via an accelerated pathway, came with an "essentially best case scenario" label. The approval came with a "clean label," indicated for patients with mild dementia, and no exclusions or black-box warnings on concurrent use of anticoagulants or APOE4 genotypes, which had been a minor concern for some investors, Bristow tells investors in a research note. The pricing came in at the high end of expectations at $26,500 per year, adds the analyst. Bristow believes that from a stock perspective, the news "is an important de-risking milestone but the nebulous timeline to reimbursement remains." The analyst keeps a Buy rating on Biogen with a $338 price target.