AbbVie Doubles Down on Autoimmune Therapeutics with Strategic Acquisitions and Pipeline Expansion

On June 27, 2024, AbbVie acquired Celsius Therapeutics for $250 million in cash, gaining access to its potential FIC drug — CEL383. It is reported that CEL383 targets TREM1 and has completed treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.（IBD）Phase I Clinical Study.

IBD belongs to long-term/chronic digestive system diseases, mainly including ulcerative colitis.（UC）And Crohn's Disease（CD）Two major categories, both of which are mainstream indications for the development of autoimmune disease treatments.

Just half a month ago, AbbVie introduced a preclinical asset from Mabgenix, also for the treatment of IBD. Additionally, as early as March this year, AbbVie acquired Landos Biopharma, another company focused on the IBD field, for up to $210 million, obtaining its core asset NX-13, an NLRX1 agonist.

It is not difficult to see that AbbVie is strengthening its autoimmune sector, with targets mostly being emerging ones whose efficacy has yet to be validated in the real world.

According to AbbVie's 2023 annual financial report, AbbVie's autoimmune segment generated a revenue of $26.136 billion, still firmly holding the top position in the autoimmune field, surpassing the second place by nearly $8 billion.

In fact, AbbVie's autoimmune portfolio is very simple, consisting of only three marketed products.(Refer to the 2023 financial report)Among them, the main product Humira in the autoimmune segment is experiencing a 32% revenue decline due to the expiration of its U.S. patent, but it still contributes to the majority of the revenue in the autoimmune segment.($14.404 billion)The other two products, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, generated revenues of $7.763 billion and $3.969 billion respectively, with year-over-year growth rates exceeding 50%. They are also standout performers in the entire autoimmune field.

In addition, according to the pipeline update from this company in February this year, Rinvoq has five new indications under development, which have already entered the later stages.

Image Source:AbbVie Official Website

AbbVie's efforts in the autoimmune sector are driven by two factors: the expansion of indications mentioned above, and market promotion.

AbbVie's official announcement stated that for commercially insured patients who meet the eligibility criteria, AbbVie will offer a support program enabling patients to purchase Skyrizi and other medications for "zero yuan."(Patient out-of-pocket costs reduced to $0 per month）。

At the same time, according to statistics from Fierce Pharma, AbbVie spent $579.7 million on advertising for Skyrizi and $495.3 million on advertising for Rinvoq, ranking first and third respectively in the "Top 10 Drug Advertising Expenditures in 2023" list. The second place was taken by Dupixent, jointly developed by Sanofi and Regeneron, with an advertising expenditure of $502 million.

With efforts from multiple fronts, the revenue generated by Skyrizi and Rinvoq is sufficient to offset the portion of Humira's revenue that has declined due to its market share being divided among numerous competitors.

AbbVie in 2024 will indeed face many challenges and uncertainties.

From the perspective of product competition, its flagship product Humira's revenue is plummeting, inevitably leading to the relinquishment of the "Top 1 in Autoimmune" position in the annual summary. Among the competitors, the strongest one is Dupixent.(CelsiusSanofi/RegeneronIn 2023, Dupixent generated revenue of 10.715 billion euros.(About $11.4 billion, only $3 billion less than Humira), an increase of approximately 30% year-over-year. In the first half of 2024, this product also achieved several new breakthroughs in indication expansion and market access regions, with revenue still on the rise.

From the perspective of corporate personnel changes, Richard Gonzalez, who has been at the helm of AbbVie for many years（Richard A. Gonzalez）Resignation. Since the spin-off from Abbott, Gonzalez has been with AbbVie. He played a role in defending Humira's patent and expanding the pipeline. According to previous announcements, the transition of the CEO position at AbbVie will officially take effect in a few days.(July 1, 2024), the new CEO is Robert Michael（Robert A. Michael）He has been a senior figure at AbbVie since its spin-off from Abbott, previously overseeing the company's financial and operational sectors.

In a changing landscape, AbbVie is still striving to enrich its pipeline and move towards diversification. From its Phase I projects(See the pipeline diagram above)In terms of layout, the number of projects in the oncology sector is significantly higher, with nearly 10 products entering Phase I clinical trials for the first time.

Secondly, its neuroscience segment is experiencing rapid growth. In AbbVie's Q1 earnings report, the neuroscience segment generated $1.965 billion in revenue, representing a 17.1% year-over-year increase, making it the only segment with double-digit growth. Additionally, AbbVie has recently been highly active in the field of neurology, completing the acquisition of Cerevel and partnering with Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals to co-develop next-generation therapies for psychiatric disorders.

Image Source: AbbVie Official Website

In addition, AbbVie's R&D base in Germany officially broke ground in April this year, with completion expected by 2027. The plan is to add more than 300 employees in the fields of oncology, neuroscience, and immunology to this site.

PharmaTimes BD Requirements (Autoimmune Field), see below:

【1】Global MNC Pharmaceutical Companies Seek Innovative Drug Products for Treating Immunity and Inflammation

【2】Top MNCs Seeking High-Quality Projects: Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Asthma, COPD, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Click on the image to view more PharmaTimes autoimmune-related projects~

References

1.Official Websites of Various Companies

2.Other Public Information 

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