AbbVie is a global biopharmaceutical research-based company focused on the development of innovative, advanced therapies that address some of the world’s most complex and serious diseases in four major therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology and neuroscience.
Rather than investing heavily in research and development to find new drugs, AbbVie believes that it is easier and faster to buy out young companies that have already found, or are about to find, new drugs. The major international laboratories, which concentrate the best research teams in several fields, are reducing the sail in this area to buy off the shelf molecules found by others.
According to Barbara Gilmore, a senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan, Adalimumab, previously named ‘D2E7’ had been previously developed through a joint venture between Cambridge Antibody Technology and the German chemical company BASF in the UK. In 2000, Abbott acquired the pharmaceutical segment of the German chemical company, BASF, for 6.9 Billion dollars (Anon, 2020).
In 2018, Humera annual sales exceeded 20 Billion, more than a whole country’s revenue like Algeria in the same year.
What is Humira?
HUMIRA (Adalimumab) is a medication used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, uveitis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (drugs.com, 2020).
Adalimumab resembles the antibodies usually found in the body. It works by blocking the action of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha), a protein that, when produced in excess, plays a central role in the inflammatory responses of many immune-mediated diseases.
References
Anon, (n.d.). Humira: the highs and lows of the world’s most successful drug. [online] Available at: https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/humira-abbvie-drug/.
Drugs.com (2018). Adalimumab. [online] Drugs.com. Available at: https://www.drugs.com/monograph/adalimumab.html.
Japsen, B. (n.d.). Why Abbvie May Have A Tough Time Defending Humira’s Price Before Congress. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2019/02/26/why-abbvie-may-have-a-tough-time-defending-humiras-price-before-congress/#c55d6cb2fd37 [Accessed 2 May 2020].