AbbVie bets on 2 drugs to make up for Humira’s plummeting sales

This year will be pivotal for AbbVie, one of the top five largest US pharmaceutical companies, as it loses market exclusivity for Humira, a drug that has brought in $200 billion over the last 20 years and is one of the best-selling drugs of the last 25 years.

During AbbVie’s 2022 year-end earnings call, CEO Richard Gonzalez said the company expects Humira sales to fall ~37% in 2023, with biosimilar versions of the drug now allowed on the market. A biosimilar from Amgen called Amjevita has already hit the market, and seven more are expected this year, according to drug marketplace GoodRx.

AbbVie executives previously estimated Humira sales would drop somewhere between 35% and 55% this year, so the 37% figure falls on the lower end of the spectrum. It’s also less than some analysts predicted—Morningstar analysts predicted a 50% sales decline. But it’s still a potential decrease of $7.9 billion from 2022, which is not pocket change (unless you’re Jeff Bezos).

Humira treats a variety of inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, and brought in $21.2 billion in 2022. (*Lowers glasses, checks notes*: That’s 73.4% of AbbVie’s immunology portfolio sales and 36.6% of the company’s total drug sales for 2022.)

Gonzalez said AbbVie is betting on two other immunology drugs—Skyrizi and Rinvoq—to collectively make up for the drop in Humira revenue.

Both Skyrizi and Rinvoq received FDA approval in 2019 and can be used to treat the same conditions as Humira’s main indications, as well as atopic dermatitis. The two drugs collectively brought in nearly $7.7 billion in combined sales in 2022, and Gonzalez said the company expects them to bring in $11.1 billion in revenue in 2023.

“We anticipate these two products will collectively exceed the peak revenues achieved by Humira by 2027, with significant growth expected through the end of the decade,” Gonzalez said during the earnings call.