Argenx's Vyvgart sales jump in second quarter, shares climb

(Corrects CFO name to Karl Gubitz)

By Lucie Barbier

July 23 (Reuters) - Belgian-Dutch immunology company argenx said on Thursday that global sales of its lead drug Vyvgart jumped in the second quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, sending its shares higher.

Vyvgart sales came in at $1.516 billion in the second quarter, up 60% from $949 million a year earlier, as the company continued to expand autoimmune treatment in generalised myasthenia gravis (gMG) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).

Shares were up around 5% to €787.4 in early Brussels trading.

Analysts at stock broker Kempen noted that margins continued to inch upward, to around 33% compared with 30% last quarter, and said in a note that the company could ultimately achieve margins above industry averages if "operational excellence" is maintained.

During the quarter, the company broadened Vyvgart's label in the United States to cover all gMG serotypes, giving the drug the broadest label in the indication.

After scaling the brand in gMG and CIDP, argenx is seeking to deepen penetration through additional administration options and potential label expansions.

Karl Gubitz, argenx's chief financial officer, told Reuters that growth was driven by the prefilled syringe for self-injection, with patients and physicians attracted by its convenience.

In an increasingly competitive market for gMG treatments, Gubitz said rivals were "all behind Vyvgart" and added that only 20% of patients with gMG are currently on novel biologics, leaving room for expansion.

The company is also looking to prove it can become more than a one-franchise biotech firm through pipeline assets such as empasiprubart and other earlier-stage immunology programmes.

For Gubitz, Vyvgart is "a once-in-a-decade drug" that builds companies and has positioned argenx to deliver growth in the short-, medium- and long-term.

Later this quarter, argenx expects Phase 3 results in myositis and a readout for empasiprubart in multifocal motor neuropathy, while additional catalysts are expected next year.

Gubitz said the company wanted to show that what it had done with Vyvgart was "repeatable and scalable" with a second asset.

(Reporting by Lucie Barbier; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Subhranshu Sahu)