Quarterly earnings at Biogen Idec rose and the company raised its full-year forecast after sales increased of the multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera.

Net income in the first quarter increased 12 per cent to $480 million, or $2.02 a share, from $426.8 million, or $1.79, a year earlier, the firm said today in a statement.

Annual profit may be $11.35 to $11.45 a share, the company said, compared with its January forecast of $11 to $11.20 a share.

Tecfidera, approved by US regulators in March 2013, generated $506 million in the quarter, more than analysts’ average estimate of $446.2 million. Total revenue is now expected to increase 26 to 28 per cent this year, the company said, compared with a previous outlook of 22 to 25 per cent.

“Following an excellent first year of sales in the US, Tecfidera is off to a solid start in Germany, with plans to launch in additional countries in the coming months,” chief executive George Scangos said. US sales of the drug were $460 million in the quarter.

The medicine had captured a market share in the “high teens” by the end of March, Eric Schmidt, a New York-based analyst at Cowen and Co, wrote in a note to clients last week.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were $2.47 a share, missing the $2.55 average of 23 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The results were hurt by 35 cents a share by expenses for a new research and development agreement with Eisai Co, the company said.

“Expenses were dramatically higher than expected in the quarter,” Mark Schoenebaum, a New York-based analyst at ISI Group LLC, said in a note to clients. However, he said, the company raised full-year guidance “which signals that this spending trend will slow”.

Biogen bought right’s to Eisai’s experimental Alzheimer’s disease medicines in March to add to its treatments for brain disorders. Japan’s Eisai will take the lead to develop the drugs and pursue regulatory approvals, while both companies will share development expenses.

(Bloomberg)