Oppenheimer analyst Jay Olson says he remain bullish on Biogen (BIIB), telling investors in a research note that he believes Roche's (RHHBY) Alzheimer's disease updates provide a favorable read-through for Biogen's own Alzheimer's disease portfolio. Among the takeaways from Roche's pipeline update are the importance of a reduction in amyloid, confidence in dose escalation, epidemiology estimate and reimbursement commentary. Olson, who has an Outperform rating and $400 price target on Biogen, says he believes shares are undervalued based on his view that the company's leadership position in neuroscience should deliver long-term growth.

RBC Capital lowered the firm's price target on Sage Therapeutics (SAGE) to $15 from $26 and keeps a Sector Perform rating on the shares after its Q1 earnings miss. The analyst also cites the company's limited additional detail on Zurzuvae launch relative to what was already provided by partner Biogen (BIIB), other than some prescription metrics. Sage's pipeline remains high-risk, though dalzanemdor may still have some shot in Huntington's Disease despite the recent Parkinson's Disease failure, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Biogen announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion for TOFIDENCE, a biosimilar monoclonal antibody referencing ROACTEMRA. The intravenous formulation of TOFIDENCE has been recommended for approval for the treatment of moderate to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and COVID-19. The CHMP's positive opinion will now be referred to the European Commission, which will decide whether to grant marketing authorization for TOFIDENCE. If a marketing authorization is granted by the EC, TOFIDENCE will be an addition to the existing biosimilars portfolio of three widely prescribed anti-TNF biosimilars commercialized by Biogen in Europe: BENEPALI, IMRALDI and FLIXABI, offering an extension to the cost-effective treatment options with an additional mechanism of action. "The positive CHMP recommendation for TOFIDENCE marks another positive step toward helping more people with inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions gain access to leading therapies," said Ian Henshaw, Global Head of Biosimilars at Biogen. "Positive CHMP recommendation for TOFIDENCE is testament to our continuing efforts to develop and deliver high-quality and proven biologic medicines to more patients, healthcare providers and healthcare systems in Europe."

Wedbush analyst Laura Chico raised the firm's price target on Biogen to $215 from $213 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. It remains early days for newly launching products like Skyclarys, Leqembi and Zurzuvae, the firm notes. That being said, it is encouraging to start to see revenue growth for Leqembi and continued growth for Skyclarys. Wedbush continues to see a gap between the newly launching products and earlier-stage development programs that will need to be addressed. However, larger-scale BD deals are likely easier to complete in 2025.