AbbVie posts weak sales of newer drugs as Humira faces fresh competition, shares fall
By Patrick Wingrove and Leroy Leo
(Reuters) -AbbVie Inc on Thursday missed quarterly revenue estimates for its newer treatments, fueling concerns over the drugmaker's attempts to cushion the blow to sales from fresh competition for its flagship arthritis drug Humira.
The company's shares tumbled more than 8% as investors shrugged off a raised full-year profit forecast and focused on Humira's 25.2% sales decline and a weaker-than-expected performance by Skyrizi and Rinvoq.
In the first quarter, Humira recorded sales of $3.54 billion, below analysts' average estimate of $3.58 billion.
The company projected second-quarter net revenue of around $13.5 billion.
Humira, the rheumatoid arthritis treatment that was once the world's biggest selling drug, is facing competition from biosimilars in the U.S. The company said it anticipated Humira market erosion of 27% in the second quarter of 2023.
AbbVie said in February that it expected Humira sales to drop 37% overall this year.
Amgen Inc recently launched its biosimilar, Amjevita, the first such competition for Humira in the U.S., at a 5% and 55% discount to Humira's monthly price of $6,922.
Shares of Amgen, which reports its quarterly results later on Thursday, were off 0.6% in morning trading.
AbbVie somewhat avoided a "sales cliff" caused by the loss of Humira exclusivity through its 2020 acquisition of Allergan and that company's cash cow Botox, and is betting on newer drugs Skyrizi for psoriasis and related conditions and Rinvoq for several autoimmune disorders.
However, Rinvoq sales of $686 million missed estimates of $713.7 million in the first quarter, while Skyrizi's sales of $1.36 billion also fell short of expectations of $1.46 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
The company said sales of both drugs were hit as customers worked through their inventories of the product.
"AbbVie needs to instill confidence that growth from the novel inflammation franchise will drive earnings as Humira turns over with biosimilar entrants. One quarter of softness isn't great, but we're focused on this not becoming a trend," BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said.
Botox sales for cosmetic applications rose 3% to $659 million, topping Wall Street estimates by $50 million, while therapeutic use jumped 17% to $719 million, surpassing expectations of $651.4 million.
That helped AbbVie beat sales expectations with revenue of $12.23 billion, topping estimates of $12.17 billion.
The company now expects 2023 adjusted earnings of $10.72 to $11.12 per share, raising both ends of the range by 10 cents.
AbbVie had trimmed its full-year profit expectations earlier this month by 8 cents, citing a $150 million hit from acquired in-process research and development and milestone expenses.
(Reporting by Mariam E Sunny and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Bill Berkrot)
