By Kamal Choudhury and Christy Santhosh
Oct 30 (Reuters) – AbbVie raised its annual profit forecast on Friday after topping Wall Street third-quarter expectations, driven by booming demand for its newer immunology and brain disease drugs, sending its shares up 1%.
The drugmaker’s shares have risen about 27% this year to record highs, as investors expect its newer immunology drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, along with its treatments in development, to offset declining sales of former marquee drug Humira.
“We are making significant progress across our pipeline,” CEO Robert Michael told analysts, adding that AbbVie sees several longer-term growth opportunities in the 2030s that are not yet reflected in Wall Street forecasts.
AbbVie is advancing several key drug development programs, including lutikizumab, a skin disease drug that could broaden its immunology franchise, and ABBV-295, an experimental weight-loss treatment licensed last year from Danish biotech Gubra.
IMMUNOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE DRIVE BEAT
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $17.40 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.82 per share, with both figures topping analyst estimates.
Skyrizi, indicated for skin and gastrointestinal conditions, recorded sales of $5.78 billion for the quarter, growing 22.7% from a year earlier and beating Wall Street estimates of $5.75 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Rinvoq, which is used to treat a range of inflammatory joint, skin and gastrointestinal conditions, generated $2.71 billion in revenue, in line with analyst expectations.
AbbVie’s neuroscience portfolio also contributed to the earnings beat, with revenue climbing 19% to $3.39 billion, helped by Botox Therapeutic and antipsychotic drug Vraylar.
The drugmaker now expects annual adjusted profit of $13.95 to $13.99 per share, compared with its prior view of $13.76 to $13.96. The forecast includes a 69 cents hit from acquired in-process R&D and milestone expenses booked year-to-date through the third quarter.
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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