Move over Humira, Skyrizi and Rinvoq are expected to beat the former megablockbuster’s peak sales by the end of this year.
AbbVie isn’t looking for sympathy as sales for its one-time cash cow Humira continued to decline for the second quarter. Skyrizi and Rinvoq combined for $6.4 billion, with AbbVie anticipating the drugs to beat the older immunology medicine’s highest sales ever by the end of this year.
Executives were restrained but obviously positive during a second-quarter earnings call on Thursday: “Results are exceeding our expectations,” CEO Robert Michael said. The positive feelings ran from the company’s increasingly dominant stance in the gastrointestinal space to company-wide earnings beating expectations.
William Blair analysts echoed the company’s outlook, writing in an investor note Thursday morning that “AbbVie’s key I&I franchises continue to significantly exceed expectations and drive upside for the company’s total revenue growth.”
The company’s earnings per share (EPS) was $2.97, beating consensus of $2.88, William Blair’s estimate of $2.42, and even the upper end of guidance, which was $2.84-$2.88. The company raised its sales expectations for the second time this year, adjusting its earnings per share guidance to $11.88-$12.08, up from $11.67-$11.87. AbbVie’s shares were up about 2% after the earnings call concluded.
The company reported that Humira, sales of which peaked at $21 billion per year in 2022 before losing its patent protections, sold just $1.1 billion for the quarter, mostly due to biosimilars eating into its margins.
This decline was shrugged off, as the combination of Skyrizi and Rinvoq is now expected to crest $25 billion in sales by the end of the year.
“Skyrizi and Rinvoq are capturing one of every two Crohn’s patients” in the U.S., Michael reported.
Skyrizi’s sales for the quarter were $4.4 billion, a 62.2% increase, while Rinvoq’s $2 billion in sales were a 41.8% increase. With new positive results for Rinvoq in alopecia areata reported on Wednesday, and with expectations of pushing into vitiligo and lupus on the horizon, the mood on the call was practically ebullient.
Outside of the I&I portfolio, “we expect to be the largest neuroscience company in the industry next year,” Michael said, reflecting on sales increases of its schizophrenia drug Vraylar and talks to acquire the mental health company Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals for about $1 billion, reported Wednesday. The two companies entered into a collaboration partnership last year to work on next-generation psychiatric disorders, a deal which included AbbVie paying $65 million up front and a potential $1.95 billion to Gilgamesh in option fees and milestone payments.
Questions from analysts on President Donald Trump’s incoming pharmaceutical tariffs could not disturb the company’s positive mood. “As it relates to 2025, we’re fairly insulated,” Michael said. “We do not expect our exposure to be outsized relative to peers, and we have a broad U.S. network. Our largest product, Skyrizi, is made in the U.S. for the U.S.”
