Biogen’s Spinraza Sales Slow as AveXis and Novartis Pursue SMA Gene Therapy

Biogen’s first quarter earnings report revealed that the company’s spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) drug Spinraza (nusinersin) fell short of the $381 million sales target for the period, bringing in $364 million during the first three months of 2018. While the number of SMA patients in the US taking Spinraza has grown from 1,640 to 1,910 since Q4 2017, the rate of patient acquisition has significantly slowed. Between October and December of 2017, Biogen had 420 new patients starting therapy with Spinraza, compared to just 280 new patients from January to March of 2018.