AbbVie Reports Full-Year and Fourth-Quarter 2016 Financial Results

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Jan. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016.

"The fourth quarter was a continuation of the strong performance and business momentum AbbVie has delivered since we became an independent company in 2013. Our 2016 revenue and EPS growth rank us among the leaders in our industry," said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer, AbbVie. "We continue to make significant progress on our objectives across each aspect of our company strategy, with strong commercial execution, financial discipline and a focus on our advancing pipeline to drive long-term sustainable growth. Our guidance for 2017 reflects continued strong performance and confidence in our business fundamentals."

Fourth-Quarter Results

• Worldwide GAAP net revenues were $6.796 billion in the fourth quarter, up 6.2 percent. Worldwide adjusted net revenues of $6.784 billion increased 6.9 percent, excluding a 0.2 percent unfavorable impact from foreign exchange rate fluctuations.
• Global HUMIRA sales increased 15.5 percent on a reported basis, or 16.2 percent operationally, excluding a 0.7 percent unfavorable impact from foreign exchange. In the U.S., HUMIRA sales grew 23.5 percent in the quarter. Internationally, HUMIRA sales grew 4.1 percent, excluding a 2.0 percent unfavorable impact from foreign exchange. Strong sales growth was driven by continued momentum across all three major market categories rheumatology, dermatology and gastroenterology.
• Fourth-quarter global IMBRUVICA net revenue was $511 million, with U.S. sales of $434 million and international profit sharing of $77 million for the quarter.
• On a GAAP basis, the gross margin ratio in the fourth quarter was 77.1 percent. The adjusted gross margin ratio was 81.0 percent.
• On a GAAP basis, selling, general and administrative expense was 24.3 percent of net revenues. The adjusted SG&A expense was 23.9 percent of net revenues.
• On a GAAP basis, research and development expense was 17.5 percent of net revenues. The adjusted R&D expense was 17.3 percent, reflecting funding actions supporting all stages of our pipeline.
• On a GAAP basis, the operating margin in the fourth quarter was 34.7 percent. The adjusted operating margin was 39.8 percent.
• On a GAAP basis, net interest expense was $290 million. Adjusted net interest expense was $251 million. On a GAAP basis, the tax rate in the quarter was 30.4 percent. The adjusted tax rate was 20.2 percent.
• Diluted EPS in the fourth quarter was $0.85 on a GAAP basis. Adjusted diluted EPS, excluding intangible asset amortization expense and other specified items, was $1.20, up 6.2 percent.

Key Events from the Fourth Quarter

• AbbVie announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved IMBRUVICA to treat patients with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), an indolent form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). There are currently no other approved treatments specifically indicated for patients with MZL. This approval marks the fifth unique type of blood cancer indication for IMBRUVICA.
• AbbVie presented long-term follow-up data evaluating up to five years of IMBRUVICA use in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition. In this analysis, 89 percent of treatment-naïve and relapsed/refractory patients with CLL/SLL, including those with high-risk disease, show a complete or partial response. Additionally, at the meeting, AbbVie presented encouraging efficacy and safety findings from a number of ongoing trials in NHL.
• AbbVie announced positive results from a registration-enabling Phase 2 study evaluating IMBRUVICA in patients with chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD), a serious and debilitating complication of stem cell or bone marrow transplant, who failed prior systemic therapy. The study found IMBRUVICA demonstrated efficacy, sustained responses and reduced symptom severity, with an overall response rate of 67 percent. In 2016, the U.S. FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Orphan Drug Designation for IMBRUVICA as a potential treatment for cGVHD after failure of one or more lines of systemic therapy, and the company expects to submit its regulatory application in the first quarter of 2017.
• AbbVie announced the European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorization for VENCLYXTO (venetoclax) monotherapy for the treatment of CLL in the presence of 17p deletion or TP53 mutation in adult patients who are unsuitable for or have failed a B-cell receptor pathway inhibitor; and for the treatment of CLL in the absence of 17p deletion or TP53 mutation in adult patients who have failed both chemoimmunotherapy and a B-cell receptor pathway inhibitor. In 2016, the U.S. FDA granted accelerated approval of Venclexta for the treatment of patients with CLL with 17p deletion who have received at least one prior therapy. Venclexta is being developed by AbbVie and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.
• AbbVie submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. FDA for its investigational, pan-genotypic, once-daily, ribavirin-free regimen of glecaprevir (ABT-493)/pibrentasvir (ABT-530) (G/P), being evaluated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). In Phase 3 clinical studies, eight weeks of therapy with G/P achieved high sustained virologic response (SVR) rates across all major genotypes (GT 1-6) in patients without cirrhosis, which represents the majority of HCV patients. In patients with compensated cirrhosis, high SVR rates were achieved after 12 weeks of therapy. High SVR rates were also achieved in patients with limited treatment options, such as those with severe chronic kidney disease. In historically difficult to treat populations, including those not cured by prior direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment regimens, high SVR rates were achieved with durations as short as 12 weeks. AbbVie received U.S. FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for its investigational regimen for the treatment of patients who failed previous therapy with DAAs in genotype 1. AbbVie also submitted its regulatory application in the EU and remains on track for submission in Japan in the first quarter of 2017. The company anticipates commercialization of the next-generation combination in 2017.
• AbbVie announced several new global research collaborations with leading healthcare innovators to advance early-stage research in key therapeutic areas such as oncology and immunology.
  
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