AbbVie buys Apogee for $10.9 billion as immunology sales accelerate
The drugmaker raised its full-year earnings guidance despite a $0.41 hit from acquired R&D costs.
The pharmaceutical company AbbVie (ABBV) agreed to acquire Apogee Therapeutics for $10.9 billion in cash and posted a 16% jump in immunology revenue that outpaced its own fourth-quarter pace.
The deal for Apogee, announced alongside first-quarter results, adds zumilokibart—a late-stage monoclonal antibody targeting atopic dermatitis and asthma—to AbbVie’s immunology pipeline. The acquisition is expected to reduce adjusted earnings by $0.14 a share this year and $0.46 in 2027, with accretion not arriving until 2032.
Revenue rose 6% year-over-year to $14.3 billion, while adjusted earnings climbed 7.7% to $2.65 a share. The earnings figure included a $0.41 unfavorable impact from acquired in-process research and development and milestone expenses, a new line item that reached 5.0% of net sales.
Immunology sales grew 16.4% to $7.29 billion, accelerating from 18.3% growth in the prior quarter. Skyrizi, the psoriasis and Crohn’s disease drug, led the segment with a 30.9% increase to $4.48 billion, while Rinvoq grew 23.3% to $2.12 billion. Humira, the former blockbuster now facing biosimilar competition, declined 38.6%, an improvement from the 49.5% drop recorded for full-year 2025.
Neuroscience revenue rose 26% to $2.88 billion, driven by Vraylar, which grew 18.4%, and the migraine drugs Ubrelvy and Qulipta, which together jumped 46.5%. Aesthetics revenue recovered to 7.6% growth, with Botox Cosmetic up 20.2% after a 4.3% decline in 2025.
The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $14.08 to $14.28 a share, up $0.12 at the midpoint, despite the first-quarter R&D charge. Revenue guidance remained unchanged. Adjusted operating margin compressed for the third straight quarter, falling to 40.8% from 41.5% in the prior period.
AbbVie said the Apogee acquisition will expand its immunology portfolio and position it for long-term growth in dermatology and respiratory diseases.