April 24 (Reuters) - Biogen beat Wall Street

estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by a

series of cost-cutting measures as older drugs face fierce

competition.

The company also said its Alzheimer's drug Leqembi,

developed with Japanese partner Eisai ( ESALF ), recorded global

sales of about $19 million, nearly tripling from the fourth

quarter of 2023.

The number of patients on the therapy have increased nearly

2.5 times since the end of 2023, Biogen said.

Biogen and Eisai ( ESALF ) also intend to increase their sales force

as they aim for 100,000 patients by 2026.

Since CEO Christopher Viehbacher took the helm at Biogen in

late 2022, the drugmaker has cut jobs, acquired rare disease

drugmaker Reata for $6.5 billion and abandoned controversial

Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm in an effort to steer the company back

to growth.

Biogen is counting on newer drugs to drive growth for the

next few years, including a second approved Alzheimer's drug

Leqembi, as its multiple sclerosis drugs and its spinal muscular

atrophy treatment grapple with increased competition.

Quarterly sales of Biogen's once-blockbuster multiple

sclerosis drug Tecfidera, which is facing competition from a

cheaper generic, came in at $254.3 million, above estimates of

$236.84 million.

While the patent for Tecfidera has expired in the United

States, Biogen believes it has market protection in Europe until

February 2025.

Sales of spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza, which is

facing fierce competition from rival drugs made by Roche

and Novartis, came in at $341.3 million, missing

estimates of $417.79 million for the quarter ended March 31.

The company reported an adjusted profit of $3.67 per share

for the first quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of

$3.45 per share, according to LSEG data.