AbbVie CEO Says Analysts Are Underrating Etentamig, A Multibillion-Dollar Myeloma Drug
Rob Michael named four pipeline assets he says Wall Street undervalues, while saying future deals will be smaller than Allergan.
AbbVie, the research-based drugmaker behind Skyrizi, Rinvoq and Botox, says Wall Street is undervaluing its pipeline. Chairman and CEO Rob Michael said on the company's third-quarter earnings call Friday that etentamig, its multiple myeloma antibody, is "a multibillion-dollar opportunity that is significantly under-called in many street models."
The assets Michael says the Street misses
A Scotiabank analyst asked which pipeline assets management thinks investors underappreciate. Michael answered that the antibody TMAP-A is a similar multibillion-dollar opportunity, also
Etentamig's path to market
Chief Scientific Officer Roopal Thakkar said etentamig could launch around the middle of next year. He said cytokine release syndrome rates are very low, almost all grade 1 with few grade 2, and that patients can move to monthly dosing right after a single step-up dose.
Michael said AbbVie has submitted its US application and anticipates approval in 2027. Thakkar said two new Phase III trials have started, one with pomalidomide in second-line-plus myeloma and one as a monotherapy in newly diagnosed light-chain amyloidosis.
Smaller deals, higher guidance
Asked by a Morgan Stanley analyst about deal appetite, Michael said he expects "more bolt-on additions versus a large transformational deal like Allergan." He also named obesity as an area AbbVie wants to expand in.
AbbVie raised full-year adjusted earnings guidance by 11 cents at the midpoint to between $13.95 and $13.99 a share, CFO Scott Reents said. Third-quarter adjusted earnings were $3.82 a share on revenue of $17.4 billion, and the quarterly dividend rises 5.2% to $1.82 a share, starting with the payment in February 2027.
Skyrizi and Rinvoq, Michael said, added $6 billion of growth this year, with $3 billion in inflammatory bowel disease across the two drugs and $2 billion in Skyrizi's psoriatic business. Humira sales fell 30.6% on an operational basis to $683 million as biosimilar competition continues.
AbbVie will give 2027 guidance on its fourth-quarter call, and Rinvoq's Phase III hidradenitis suppurativa results are due near the end of this year.
Sources
- AbbVie: Q3 Earnings Snapshot — Associated Press
- AbbVie Non-GAAP EPS of $3.82 beats by $0.05, revenue of $17.4B beats by $50M, raises FY guid | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- AbbVie raises profit outlook after Q3 2026 earnings beat estimates — qz.com
- AbbVie (ABBV) Tops Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates — Yahoo Finance
- AbbVie in Charts:Skyrizi and Rinvoq continue double-digitY/Y expansion | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
