Humira's Inevitable Decline: What's Waiting In The Wings?

There are 20 biosimilar adalimumab drugs in development – including one from Amgen that has already been approved but not yet launched. Biotechs and big pharma companies alike are lining up their candidates in preparation for when AbbVie's world-leading inflammation and immunology product Humira loses patent protection.

Business decline
World's best-selling drug Humira faces big losses as biosimilar versions wait in line • Source: Shutterstock

Biosimilar versions of the world's bestselling drug, AbbVie Inc.'s Humira (adalimumab), are lurking all over the globe in shadows cast by the originator product, ready to hit the market as soon as patent protection is lost for the drug, which is the major engine driving AbbVie's revenues and profits.

Humira, a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor approved for several inflammatory indications, is still the main source of growth for...

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