Biogen Idec highlights ‘solid’ growth in 2012

Biogen Idec has hailed the performance of its business over the last 12 months after posting strong year-on-year growth figures for the 2012 full-year period.

The pharmaceutical company's revenue total for the year came to $5.5 billion (3.5 billion pounds), up by nine percent on 2011, while it also recorded a double-digit increase in earnings per share.

During the period, Biogen Idec saw sales improvements for its blockbuster therapies Tysabri, Avonex and Rituxan, with revenues from royalties and corporate partnerships also experiencing increases.

This positions the company well for the planned 2013 launch of the important new multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Tecfidera, among other new products.

Dr George Scangos, chief executive officer for Biogen Idec, said: "We recorded another solid year of revenue growth and profitability, all while advancing our late-stage pipeline and investing in upcoming product launches."

This comes after the firm reported positive data from a phase III trial of the innovative MS drug peginterferon beta-1a earlier this month.