AbbVie Reports Strong H1 2021 Results with Humira at $9.94B and Shifts Alzheimer's Strategy Away from Tau to Amyloid-β

On July 30, AbbVie announced its financial results for the first half of 2021, reporting total revenues of $26.894 billion, representing a 12% year-over-year increase on a comparable basis. By business segment, Immunology generated $11.864 billion, accounting for 44%; Oncology contributed $3.489 billion, Neuroscience $2.707 billion, Aesthetics $2.575 billion, and Eye Care $1.736 billion.

Humira's US market revenue increased by 7% year-on-year, while international market revenue declined by 12.6% year-on-year, totaling $9.935 billion for the first half of the year. Other new autoimmune products demonstrated strong growth momentum, with the IL-23 monoclonal antibody Skyrizi (risankizumab) generating $1.248 billion in revenue, a 95.7% year-on-year increase, and the oral JAK1 inhibitor Rinvoq (upadacitinib) reaching $681 million, representing a year-on-year growth of over 100%.

In the oncology segment, the BTK inhibitor Imbruvica (ibrutinib) remained stable with revenue of $2.649 billion; the BCL-2 inhibitor Venclexta (venetoclax) experienced rapid sales growth, up 31.2% year-over-year to $840 million.

The neuroscience segment primarily focuses on Vraylar (cariprazine) for schizophrenia and Ubrelvy (ubrogepant), an oral CGRP inhibitor for migraine. Vraylar, a D2/D3 receptor antagonist, demonstrates superior efficacy over risperidone in improving negative symptoms in schizophrenia patients. Its sales revenue increased by 23.7% in the first half of the year, reaching $778 million. Ubrelvy has achieved significantly higher adoption than injectable CGRP inhibitors, with faster market uptake; its year-over-year growth exceeded 100% in the first half, with revenue reaching $207 million.

In pipeline development, autoimmune diseases are undoubtedly AbbVie's top priority, with indication expansions for Skyrizi and Rinvoq ongoing. Additionally, AbbVie is strengthening its portfolio in hematologic malignancies, notably through the recent acquisition of TeneoOne, which granted the company global rights to TNB-383B, a CD3/BCMA bispecific antibody for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Another major move by AbbVie is the adjustment of its development strategy for Alzheimer’s disease. During the analyst conference call on the morning of July 30, AbbVie announced that it would advance a carefully selected Aβ candidate into clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, while discontinuing the development of the tau protein inhibitor ABBV-8E12 for this indication.

Michael Severino, Chief Scientific Officer of AbbVie, believes that now is the right time to develop Aβ-targeting drugs. The company’s preclinical findings also confirm the correlation between reduced Aβ deposition and neurological functional outcomes; the key lies in the rate of Aβ reduction. Candidate drugs must reduce Aβ deposition rapidly enough before a "negative state" is established. Previous failures in Aβ drug development were primarily due to the generally prolonged duration of Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials, during which these drugs failed to reduce Aβ deposition quickly enough.

In summary, following AbbVie's acquisition of Allergan, its business has become more diversified, and it is further consolidating its position in relevant business segments by advancing pipeline product development and pursuing external deals.