AbbVie ABBV announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held biotech, Nimble Therapeutics. The impending acquisition will add Nimble’s lead preclinical asset and a pipeline of other novel oral peptide candidates with potential across several autoimmune diseases to AbbiVie’s Immunology pipeline. The acquisition also allows AbbVie to utilize Nimble's proprietary peptide synthesis platform to enable the discovery and optimization of oral peptide therapeutics.

Nimble’s lead preclinical asset is an investigational oral peptide IL23R inhibitor in preclinical development for the treatment of psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Per AbbVie, IL23R is a validated therapeutic target in certain autoimmune diseases, significantly contributing to psoriasis and IBD by driving inflammation and enhancing immune responses.

In the past three months, shares of AbbVie have lost 10.4% compared with the industry’s 14.4% decline. 

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More on ABBV’s Strategic Acquisition of Nimble

The acquisition of Nimble Therapeutics by AbbVie is poised to benefit both. AbbVie will gain a valuable addition to its pipeline, enhancing its established expertise in immunology with Nimble's innovative oral peptide-based therapies. This synergy represents a significant growth opportunity to address unmet medical needs in autoimmune diseases.

For Nimble, AbbVie’s global scale and proven capabilities in developing and commercializing medicines will enable its groundbreaking therapies to reach a wider patient population. The collaboration underscores the potential of Nimble’s proprietary platform.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, AbbVie will make a cash payment of $200 million to Nimble, subject to the fulfillment of certain customary closing conditions. ABBV has also made certain interim funding payments to Nimble before the transaction closes and remains liable to pay an additional amount contingent upon the achievement of a developmental milestone.

AbbVie Holds Key Position in Immunology Market

AbbVie enjoys a strong foothold in the Immunology market. AbbVie’s key immunology medicine,Humira, is facing generic erosion due to the loss of patent protection in the United States and EU. However, sales of its two new drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, approved across Humira's major indications, plus a distinct new indication, atopic dermatitis, are making up for the loss.

The drugs have demonstrated a strong uptake, contributing meaningful revenues that are boosting the company’s top line. In the first nine months of 2024, AbbVie has recorded $12 billion from the sales of Skyrizi and Rinvoq. Both drugs have demonstrated compelling head-to-head data against several novel therapies in clinical studies, giving them a competitive advantage. With approvals for many new indications, sales of these drugs could be higher in future quarters.

Skyrizi and Rinvoq are expected to collectively exceed the peak revenues achieved by Humira by 2027. AbbVie expects combined sales (risk-adjusted) of Skyrizi and Rinvoq to be more than $27 billion by 2027 (Skyrizi: more than $17 billion; Rinvoq: more than $10 billion).

AbbVie Inc. Price and Consensus

AbbVie Inc. price-consensus-chart | AbbVie Inc. Quote

ABBV’s Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the sector are Castle Biosciences CSTL, CytomX Therapeutics CTMX and Spero Therapeutics SPRO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the past 60 days, 2024 estimates for Castle Biosciences have improved from a loss of 58 cents per share to earnings of 34 cents. During the same timeframe, loss per share estimates for 2025 have narrowed from $2.13 to $1.84. In the past three months, shares of Castle Biosciences have lost 7.6%.

CSTL’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 172.72%.

In the past 60 days, estimates for CytomX Therapeutics’ 2024 loss per share have narrowed from 29 cents to 5 cents. Estimates for 2025 loss per share have narrowed from 56 cents to 35 cents during the same timeframe. In the past three months, CTMX stock has lost 8.3%.

CytomX’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark in the other two, delivering an average surprise of 115.70%.

In the past 60 days, estimates for Spero Therapeutics’ 2024 loss per share have narrowed from $1.59 to $1.29. Estimates for 2025 loss per share have narrowed from $1.54 to 79 cents during the same timeframe. In the past three months, Spero’s shares have lost 19.5%.

SPRO’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark in the other two, delivering an average surprise of 94.42%.

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