The company is prioritizing investment in the launches of Leqembi, zuranolone and newly approved Qalsody as well as key pipeline assets, while discontinuing investment in two stroke programs.

The investment community has been willing Biogen to make a big deal for some time now but a modest pact inked with Japan's TMS for its Phase II acute ischemic stroke drug suggests that management will continue to favor picking up promising compounds rather than diving into major M&A.

Sales of Biogen's blockbuster rare disease drug moderated in the first quarter as the company worked through the bolus of urgent infant and pediatric patients awaiting treatment in the US.

Biogen's MS therapy natalizumab may have been a disappointment in ischemic stroke, but the neuroscience-focused company is aiming to soon move another potential stroke therapy into late-stage clinical studies.