AbbVie

Humira (adalimumab) originated in human-antibody research begun in December 1991 at Cambridge Antibody Technology Group; the candidate, D2E7, was co-developed by Knoll AG of BASF Pharma. In 2001 Abbott Laboratories bought BASF Pharma’s entire business for $6.9 billion in cash, gaining D2E7. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Humira for rheumatoid arthritis on December 31, 2002.⁠[1]

On October 19, 2011, Abbott Laboratories announced a split into two public companies: a diversified medical products company keeping the Abbott name and a research-based pharmaceutical company with nearly $18 billion in estimated 2011 sales from products such as Humira, Lupron and Synagis, to be led by Richard A. Gonzalez as chairman and CEO.⁠[2]

AbbVie Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on April 10, 2012.⁠[3]

On December 20, 2012, S&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) is a global index provider that compiles and licenses benchmark indices including the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It was formed in 2012 by combining McGraw-Hill’s S&P index business with the Dow Jones Indexes business held by a joint venture of CME Group and Dow Jones, and it is now the index business division of S&P Global, which holds about 73% of the interest.Open the full entry announced that AbbVie would join the S&P 100, replacing Dell, and the S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry, replacing Federated Investors, when Abbott’s spin-off took effect after the close on December 31.⁠[4]

On January 1, 2013, Abbott distributed all of AbbVie’s common stock to its shareholders, and AbbVie became a separate public company.⁠[3]

On January 2, 2013, Abbott announced that it had completed the separation of its research-based pharmaceuticals business: shareholders received one AbbVie share for every Abbott share held as of the close of business on December 12, 2012. AbbVie began trading independently on the New York Stock Exchange that day under the symbol ABBV.⁠[5]

On October 20, 2014, AbbVie and Shire agreed to call off AbbVie’s proposed $55 billion purchase of Shire, with AbbVie paying a $1.64 billion break fee. AbbVie blamed new U.S. Treasury rules on tax inversion deals issued the previous month; Gonzalez said the rules “created an environment of risk and uncertainty.”⁠[6]

On May 26, 2015, AbbVie completed its acquisition of Pharmacyclics, Inc., paying $261.25 per share in cash or a cash-and-stock mix, and Pharmacyclics shares ceased trading on NASDAQ. Its Imbruvica (ibrutinib), a first-in-class BTK inhibitor for blood cancers, was approved through a partnership with Janssen Biotech. Gonzalez called the deal “a significant step forward in our effort to become a leader in oncology.”⁠[7]

On April 23, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved AbbVie’s Biologics License Application for Skyrizi (risankizumab) to treat plaque psoriasis; Canada and Japan had approved it for the same use the week before.⁠[8]

On August 16, 2019, AbbVie announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Rinvoq (upadacitinib), a 15 mg once-daily oral JAK inhibitor for adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who had an inadequate response to or intolerance of methotrexate.⁠[9]

On June 25, 2019, AbbVie announced a cash-and-stock acquisition of Allergan with an equity value of about $63 billion, aimed at reducing reliance on Humira, which faced loss of U.S. patent exclusivity in 2023; combined 2019 revenue was projected at about $48 billion. Gonzalez called it “a transformational transaction for both companies.”⁠[10]

On May 8, 2020, after regulatory approvals and approval by the Irish High Court, AbbVie completed its acquisition of Allergan plc, exchanging each Allergan share for 0.8660 AbbVie shares plus $120.30 in cash; Allergan stock ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange at that day’s close. Allergan brought products including Botox, Vraylar, Ubrelvy and Juvederm, and AbbVie projected combined revenues of about $50 billion.⁠[11]

In 2019 Humira’s worldwide net revenues were approximately $19.2 billion, about 58% of AbbVie’s total net revenues.⁠[12]

The FTC accused AbbVie and other AndroGel patent owners of filing sham patent suits against Teva and Perrigo, and a district court ordered $448 million in disgorgement. On September 30, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated that order because disgorgement is unavailable under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, and revived a reverse-payment claim.⁠[13]

On July 29, 2022, the California Attorney General announced an agreement in principle for a nationwide opioid settlement of up to $2.37 billion with Allergan, which had sold Norco- and Kadian-branded and generic opioids and was acquired by AbbVie in 2020; the agreement was not yet final.⁠[14]

Welfare-benefit plans that paid for Humira sued AbbVie under the Sherman Act, alleging that its 132 Humira-related patents formed a “patent thicket” that maintained a monopoly. On August 1, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal; Judge Easterbrook wrote, “But what’s wrong with having lots of patents?”⁠[15]

In January 2023 Amgen announced that Amjevita, a Humira biosimilar, was available in the United States. After Humira’s original patent expired, AbbVie applied for more than 100 additional patents to keep control of the market; Humira’s U.S. sales had exceeded $135 billion.⁠[16]

On February 12, 2024, AbbVie completed its acquisition of ImmunoGen for $31.26 per share in cash, and ImmunoGen stock ceased trading on NASDAQ. ImmunoGen’s Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate, had FDA accelerated approval for adults with folate receptor alpha-positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer.⁠[17]

On February 20, 2024, AbbVie’s board selected president and chief operating officer Robert A. Michael to succeed Richard A. Gonzalez as CEO effective July 1, 2024, with Gonzalez becoming executive chairman. Gonzalez had been CEO since the company’s formation in 2013, during which its market capitalization rose from $54 billion to more than $300 billion.⁠[18]

On August 1, 2024, AbbVie completed its acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics.⁠[19]

On February 14, 2025, AbbVie’s board unanimously elected CEO Robert A. Michael as chairman, effective July 1, 2025, succeeding Richard A. Gonzalez, who had been chairman since 2013.⁠[20]

AbbVie’s main products include Skyrizi, Rinvoq and Humira in immunology, Vraylar in neuroscience, Imbruvica and Venclexta in oncology, and Botox Cosmetic in aesthetics; in 2025 Skyrizi and Rinvoq together accounted for about 42% of total net revenues. As of December 31, 2025, it had approximately 57,000 employees in over 70 countries.⁠[21]

On February 4, 2026, AbbVie announced full-year 2025 results: worldwide net revenues of $61.160 billion, up 8.6%; net earnings attributable to AbbVie of $4.226 billion; and diluted earnings per share of $2.36, down 1.3%. Skyrizi revenues were $17.562 billion, Rinvoq $8.304 billion and Humira $4.540 billion, down 49.5%.⁠[22]

On July 31, 2026, AbbVie announced second-quarter 2026 results: worldwide net revenues of $16.990 billion, up 10.2%, and diluted earnings per share of $2.03. Skyrizi and Rinvoq revenues were $5.505 billion and $2.525 billion, each up about 24%. The company had also announced the proposed acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics.⁠[23]

On September 3, 2026, AbbVie completed its acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics for $135.11 per share in cash, a total equity value of about $10.9 billion, and Apogee stock ceased trading on NASDAQ before the market opened that day. Apogee’s lead asset, zumilokibart, is a late-stage, half-life-extended monoclonal antibody targeting IL-13 in development for atopic dermatitis.⁠[24]