Botox maker AbbVie raises profit forecast after strong sales of immunology drugs

AbbVie, the makers of Botox, raised its 2025 profit forecast on Thursday, after beating Wall Street estimates for second-quarter results on strong sales of its newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq.

AbbVie, the makers of Botox, raised its 2025 profit forecast on Thursday, after beating Wall Street estimates for second-quarter results on strong sales of its newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq.

AbbVie's forecast raise comes on the back of the European Union's framework trade deal with the United States, under which all EU-produced pharmaceuticals entering the US will be subject to a 15% tariff. 

AbbVie has a significant presence in Ireland, in Dublin, Sligo, in Carrigtwohill in Co Cork, and in Westport in Mayo, where it makes its wrinkle treatment Botox.

Shares of the drugmaker jumped nearly 6%. The company is pushing Skyrizi and Rinvoq to counter the drop in sales of arthritis treatment Humira, as the once-bestselling drug faces competition from several cheaper biosimilars that began hitting the US market in 2023.

"We're entering the second half of the year with substantial momentum," said CEO Robert Michael. 

Skyrizi recorded quarterly sales of $4.42bn (€3.86bn), beating analysts' average estimate of $4bn, while Rinvoq sales of $2.03bn surpassed estimates of $1.97 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The Chicago drugmaker has spent more than $20bn (€17.4bn) on acquisitions since 2023 as Humira lost patent protection. On Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that AbbVie is in talks to acquire privately held psychiatric disorder drug developer Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth about $1bn (€870m).

Global sales of Humira, once the world's best-selling drug, came in at $1.18bn (€1.03bn) in the second quarter, missing estimates of $1.45bn (€1.27bn).

The company now expects adjusted annual profit per share between $11.88 and $12.08, compared with its previous expectations of $11.67 to $11.87.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Carter Gould said AbbVie "delivered the stand-out print so far across large-cap biopharma."

The company earned quarterly adjusted profit per share of $2.97, compared with estimates of $2.88.

Established in 1977, AbbVie’s Westport facility employs approximately 1,300 people. The campus has grown to almost 750,000 sq. ft. on a 61-acre campus, and it encompasses a pharmaceuticals facility, two biologics plants and an ocular implant facility that manufactures a range of leading eye care products. 

The company’s plant in Carrigtwohill is a modern ‘bulk tablet’ facility manufacturing solid and capsule formulations.

Reuters