Humira powers ahead as Abbott prepares split
pharmafile | July 19, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â AbbVie, Abbott, Humira, RAÂ
Humira maintained its rapid growth in the second quarter, helping keep Abbott buoyant ahead of its split into two separate companies.
The rheumatoid arthritis drug saw its sales rise 16.5% to $4.2 billion in the period, growth that actually reached 23% if unfavourable currency moves are discounted.
But the company’s next biggest drug franchise Trilipix/TriCor (fenofibrate) saw its sales fall 8.5% to $717 million, underlining the company’s reliance on Humira for its revenues. TriCor goes off patent this month, which will see sales decline much more rapidly.
The company also had to pay for a number of expenses related to the separation of its pharma division and the rest of the business, denting its earnings by some $218 million, or 11.2 per cent.
The pharma division, to be named AbbVie, will be spun out by the end of the year, and will be headed up by current pharma business leader Richard Gonzalez. The remainder of the business will retain the Abbott name, and will include the branded generic pharmaceuticals division, devices, diagnostics and nutritionals businesses.
For AbbVie, the focus will very much be on finding new drugs which can help it continue growing once Humira goes off patent. Humira’ s US patent expires in December 2016 (and barring patent extensions and difficulties for biosimilar competitors) this doesn’t give the firm much time to find equally successful follow up products.
Pipeline
One of the most promising late-stage drugs the firm has in its pipeline is bardoxolone, a treatment for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Currently in Phase III trials, bardoxolone has the potential to slow the progression of patients towards needing dialysis.
The drug could be on the market by 2014, co-marketed with the company which discovered it, Reata.
Andrew McConaghie
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