AbbVie Announces Second Major Facility Expansion in 2024 with €150 Million R&D Investment in Germany

Recently, AbbVie announced an investment of approximately 150 million euros to build a new central research building, "LUnA," in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, with completion expected by 2027.

The R&D base currently has about 2,000 employees, and this time it is expected to add 300 new jobs.

This isAbbVieThe second investment in R&D and production this yearOn January 25, AbbVie announced an investment of $223 million to expand its production facility in Singapore to enhance its manufacturing capabilities. Once the expanded plant is fully operational, AbbVie's total number of employees in Singapore will exceed 500.

Over the past decade, AbbVie's remarkable performance has been inseparable from the contributions of Humira.HumiraIn the 21 years since its launch, Humira has generated over $200 billion in revenue for AbbVie. For seven years, it contributed more than 50% of the company's sales, peaking at over 60%. Relying on this single product, AbbVie has maintained its leading position in the autoimmune field for many years.

However, with the expiration of patents in 2023 and the concentrated launch of biosimilars, Humira's sales declined, dropping 32.2% year-on-year in 2023.

Humira, although no longer the top-selling drug, still holds a dominant market position.RootAccording to Samsung Bioepis' quarterly report,As of February 2024, Humira firmly controls 96% of the market share, while biosimilars have only captured 4% from AbbVie.

Even with the first interchangeable qualification, Cyltezo is still struggling to penetrate the market dominated by Humira. Previously, its developer Boehringer Ingelheim announced layoffs among some of Cyltezo’s sales staff.BecauseCyltezoFailed to be in the United StatesRegionObtainExpectedSales.

Although 2023The Arrival of Biosimilars Concentrates, ButThrough medical insurance reimbursement and high kickbacks, the impact of U.S. biosimilars has been mitigated to a certain extent.

However, this year, Humira (adalimumab) may face...Competition among biosimilarsOr will truly begin to intensify.On April 1, 2024, Humira was removed from the drug reimbursement list by CVS Caremark, one of the three major PBMs in the United States, which prioritized recommending its biosimilar version instead.

This move has an immediate effect on improving the penetration rate of biosimilars. After April 1, 2024,HumiraThe prescription volume of biosimilars soared to 36%.

The decline in Humira sales inevitably caused fluctuations in AbbVie's business revenue. In 2023, AbbVie's total annual revenue decreased by 6.4% year-over-year, reaching $54.318 billion. According to AbbVie's report, this marks the first time the company has experienced a decline in annual sales since its establishment.

To address the potential major business disruption caused by the expiration of Humira's patent, AbbVie began laying out its strategy over a decade in advance, vigorously cultivating successors to Humira.In 2010, AbbVie independently developed the JAK1 inhibitor Rinvoq, and in 2016, it collaborated with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop the IL-23 monoclonal antibody Skyrizi.

These two drugs have also lived up to expectations, with strong sales performance.In 2023, two productsTotal revenue reached $117.33 billion, respectivelyForAbbVieSales in 2023TOP2 and TOPProduct 3。According to Evaluate Pharma's forecast, Skyrizi sales are expected to approach $100 billion in 2024, becoming AbbVie's second ""Billions of Dollars in Single Products."

Based on the growth momentum of the two products, AbbVie has also raised its sales forecast for Rinvoq+Skyrizi to $27 billion by 2027, significantly higher than Humira's peak of $21.23 billion.

In the autoimmune track,AbbVieThe revenue remains far ahead. Even as Humira steps down, it is still the sales champion in the autoimmune field, and the替补选手Rinvoq and Skyrizi are gradually taking up the autoimmune banner in the post-Humira era, contributing to AbbVie's performance in the autoimmune sector.ContinuousProvide momentum for growth.

Reference Source:

https://news.abbvie.com/2024-04-30-AbbVie-Reinforces-Commitment-to-Science-and-Innovation-with-a-EUR150-million-Euro-Investment-in-New-Cutting-Edge-Research-and-Development-Facility-in-Germany#:~:text=LUDWIGSHAFEN%2C%20Germany%2C%20April%2029%2C%202024%20%E2%80%93%20AbbVie%20breaks,million%20in%20its%20second%20largest%20R%26D%20location%20worldwide.