ABBV AbbVie Inc

By Colin Kellaher

AbbVie on Thursday said it is moving its blockbuster immunology drug Rinvoq into Phase 3 studies in vitiligo after a successful Phase 2b study in the chronic skin condition.

The North Chicago, Ill., biopharmaceutical company said the Phase 2b study evaluating Rinvoq in adults with non-segmental vitiligo met the primary endpoint of percent change from baseline in a key scoring index at week 24 compared with placebo, adding that the percent reduction at week 52 was greater than results at week 24.

AbbVie said no new safety signals were identified in the study, and that based on the data, it is advancing Rinvoq into Phase 3 studies in vitiligo, for which there are currently no approved systemic treatment options.

AbbVie is counting on Rinvoq and the blockbuster psoriasis drug Skyrizi to help make for lost sales for its mega-blockbuster Humira, the highest-grossing drug of all time, which faces new competition from copycats after patent expirations.

AbbVie is targeting combined 2025 risk-adjusted sales for Rinvoq and Skyrizi of more than $17.5 billion and combined peak sales for the two drugs topping $21 billion in 2027.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2023 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)

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