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Biogen Inc., the maker of multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera, reported first-quarter profit that fell short of analysts’ estimates as sales of its best-selling drug slowed in the U.S. and in Germany.

Earnings excluding one-time items rose to $3.82 a share from $2.47 a year earlier. Analysts had forecast $3.88 on average, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue increased 20 percent to $2.6 billion, the company said Friday in a statement. Analysts had predicted $2.64 billion.

Sales of Tecfidera, Biogen’s top drug, climbed to $825 million, missing analysts’ average estimate of $927 million as the company increased discounts and allowances. Sales of Tecfidera have been “flattish” for the past few months for a number of reasons, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee, who in an April 12 note listed a single patient death and the introduction of another Biogen drug, Plegridy, as factors slowing sales.

Meanwhile, Biogen’s early pipeline has excited investors. An experimental multiple sclerosis drug, anti-Lingo-1, showed promise in repairing damaged eye nerves in a midstage trial, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said in January. The antibody may spur regrowth of myelin, a fatty substance coating nerve fibers that is damaged in multiple sclerosis patients.

Shareholders also are enthusiastic about Biogen’s experimental drug for Alzheimer’s, which reduced cognitive decline in a small early-stage trial. The drug, BIIB037, has now moved into a final-stage trial.

First-quarter net income rose 71 percent to $823 million.

Biogen shares fell 2.7 percent to $418.74 at 7:55 a.m. in New York, before the start of regular trading. The stock has advanced 40 percent in the past year, compared with a 60 percent increase in the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index.

In January, the company said 2015 earnings per share would be $16.60 to $17 and revenue would rise 14 percent to 16 percent from the previous year.