AbbVie Inc, which for years marketed Humira, a former blockbuster medicine, is to replenish its portfolio with the acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotech company with candidate products for inflammatory and immunological diseases. Announced on 22 June, the all-cash transaction values Apogee at $135.11 per share or approximately $10.9 billion. This represents a premium of about 49.5% over Apogee’s closing price on Nasdaq the day before the announcement.
The transaction is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2026 and be accretive to AbbVie’s adjusted, diluted earnings per share starting in 2032.
From a product perspective, the deal broadens AbbVie’s immunology portfolio with new products for atomic dermatitis and asthma while accelerating the company’s presence in the respiratory medicine space.
Apogee’s lead asset is zumilokibart, a subcutaneous half-life extended monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-13 which plays a key role in inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis and asthma. In a Phase 2 trial of patients with atopic dermatitis, zumilokibart achieved significant skin clearance at 16 weeks along with notable improvements in itch reduction and overall disease control. Longer-term data from the same trial underscored the importance of the drug’s dosing schedule, which is either quarterly or twice per year, according to AbbVie.
Apogee’s second asset, APG273, is in development for asthma. This is a combination of zumilokibart and APG333, a monoclonal antibody targeting the thymic stromal lymphopoietin, a protein related to the interleukin-7 family.
Apogee describes its competitive advantage as working with validated targets, while at the same time delivering novel antibodies that require less frequent dosing than standard-of-care biologics. In a prepared statement, Robert Michael, AbbVie’s chief executive, said the acquisition will enable the company to “advance these programmes and continue to transform the standard of care in inflammatory diseases.”
Copyright 2026 Evernow Publishing Ltd