AbbVie Stock Falls As Company Warns of Continued Humira Sales Slump
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Key Takeaways
AbbVie warned Friday that sales of its blockbuster arthritis drug, Humira, will continue to lose market share to biosimilars.
Revenue from Humira declined 35.9% in the first quarter, AbbVie reported.
Despite the drop in Humira sales, AbbVie beat earnings and revenue forecasts in the quarter, and raised its full-year guidance.
AbbVie shares were down nearly 5% in late trading Friday.
Shares of AbbVie (
ABBV
) slumped Friday as the pharmaceutical firm warned of deeper declines in sales of its blockbuster arthritis drug, Humira, because of competition from close copies known as biosimilars.
Once the
world’s biggest-selling drug
, Humira lost exclusivity last year, and nine biosimilars hit the U.S. market. During its first-quarter earnings call with analysts, the company said it expects current-quarter Humira sales would fall 32%. That would be on top of the 35.9% drop in the first three months of the year.
The Humira news offset AbbVie’s better-than-expected results and higher guidance. The company reported adjusted profit of $2.31 per share, with revenue up 0.7% to $12.31 billion. Both were above
estimates
.
AbbVie got a boost from psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treatment Skyrizi, whose sales soared 47.6% to $2 billion, and rheumatoid arthritis drug Rinvoq, which had a 59.3% jump in sales to $1.09 billion.
The company raised its full-year
earnings per share (EPS)
outlook to a range of $11.13 to $11.33 from the previous $10.97 to $11.17.
AbbVie shares were down 4.6% at $159.55 about an hour before the closing bell. They have slipped into negative territory for 2024.
