AbbVie Not Looking For Massive Deals After Abandoning Shire
November 3, 2014
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
After the fallout with Shire Plc, AbbVie Inc. ’s Chief Executive Officer says that the company isn’t looking for any more big deals. Richard Gonzalez said in a conference call Friday that it isn’t likely in the near future.
“There were certain attributes of the Shire transaction that made it unique and out of the normal course of our M&A strategy,” Gonzalez said during the call, according to Bloomberg. “I don’t think it’s likely we will do another $50 billion deal.”
In the future, he hinted that the company may look at assets in immunology, cancer and other rare diseases.
Third Quarter Results
On Oct. 31, AbbVie released its financial results for the third quarter ending on Sept. 30. Worldwide sales reached $5 billion, which is up 7.8 percent. Sales also increased by 8.3 percent on an operational basis.
"Our third-quarter results reflect the strong performance of our business with double-digit growth from HUMIRA and several other key brands,” said Gonzalez. “Our underlying business grew nearly 14 percent in the quarter excluding lipids. We exceeded our outlook for the quarter and have significantly raised our original 2014 guidance. In the fourth quarter, we look forward to the U.S. approval of our interferon-free HCV combination, which will further accelerate sales and earnings growth in 2015 and beyond."
This positive data comes shortly after the termination of the Shire and AbbVie proposed merger. The deal was not completed after AbbVie’s board of directors withdrew their support in mid-October.
HUMIRA Finishes Phase 3 Trial
On Oct. 13, AbbVie announced that HUMIRA had finished its Phase 3 study, demonstrating the effect of the drug in reducing clinical signs of moderate-to-severe hidradenitissuppurativa. The data showed that at 12 weeks, patients who were treated with 40mg of HUMIRA weekly beginning at week 4 showed improvement in comparison to those who received the placebo.
"HS is painful due to abscesses and nodules, yet there are few treatment options available to help reduce symptoms," said Gregor Jemec, study investigator and professor of dermatology at University of Copenhagen. "Results from the PIONEER trials support the potential for adalimumabto be an important new treatment option for patients with HS."
This is the second pivotal registration study to evaluate the use of the drug in patients with moderate-to-severe HS.
"AbbVie is committed to developing new treatment strategies as part of our focus to helping patients with the most pressing health issues, such as HS," said John Medich, vice president of Clinical Development in Immunology at AbbVie.