Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating, because that oh-so-familiar routine of online meetings, conferences and deadlines has predictably returned. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, keeps spinning. So to give it a nudge in a useful direction, we are firing up the coffee kettle to brew another cup of stimulation. Our choice today is maple bourbon. As always, you are invited to join us. Meanwhile, here is the latest menu of tidbits to help you start your journey. We hope your day is productive and meaningful. And of course, do keep in touch. We are searching for new pen pals …
Now that its blockbuster immune-disease therapy Humira is facing lower-priced competition, AbbVie is turning to a pair of next-generation successors to replenish the billions of dollars in sales that will be lost, The Wall Street Journal writes. The company is also betting on four drug approvals by the end of next year. In addition, AbbVie is lifting a self-imposed $2 billion limit on the size of deals it would do to add more products. AbbVie is counting most on persuading doctors that two newer immune drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, are more effective than Humira and can pass peak Humira sales in four years.
Pharmaceutical companies that made billions from the pandemic over the past two years selling vaccines and treatments are now up against a steep Covid-19 sales cliff and investor pressure to spend their windfalls wisely, Reuters explains. Companies including Pfizer, Moderna, Gilead Sciences, and AstraZeneca are estimated to have brought in about $100 billion in revenue from vaccines and treatments. But company and analyst estimates suggest those sales could fall by nearly two-thirds this year due to built up product inventories, including in countries that pay the most. Population immunity from high vaccination rates and previous infections means demand for treatments could dip as well.
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