Drugs company Biogen today posted lower then expected quarterly profit and revenue as its key oral multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera showed signs of slowing growth.
The drug's sales have slowed after falling short of analysts' estimates for the first time in the third quarter of 2014.
Sales of Tecfidera beat the average analyst estimate by about $36m in the previous quarter.
Tecfidera raked in sales of $824.9m in the first quarter to the end of March, compared with $506m a year earlier, but missed consensus projections of about $931m.
Sales of the drug fell 10% compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, the company said.
"We saw moderating patient growth of Tecfidera in the United States and Germany", Biogen's CEO George Scangos said in a statement.
Net income attributable to Biogen rose to $822.5m, or $3.49 per share in the first quarter, from $480m, or $2.02 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned $3.82 per share, well below the average analyst estimate $3.91 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue rose about 20% to $2.55 billion, also missing Wall Street's projections of $2.66 billion.
