AbbVie Says Buying Spree Will Add R&D Heft Needed For Long-Term Growth

Cerevel Acquisition For $8.7bn Closely Follows $10.1bn ImmunoGen Buyout

 
• By Joseph Haas
  
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Buying Cerevel six days after the ImmunoGen takeout, with a combined value of nearly $19bn, AbbVie thinks it has restocked its pipeline with future blockbusters to drive post-Humira growth.

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AbbVie thinks Cerevel's pipeline offers multiple potential blockbuster sellers • Source: Shutterstock

Making two M&A transactions with combined valuation of nearly $19bn in the past week, AbbVie Inc. appears to be done with large acquisitions for the time being, a sentiment CEO and chairman Rick Gonzalez expressed during a 7 December call to outline the company’s $8.7bn bid for neurology-focused Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. the day before. The two deals are a key component of AbbVie’s strategy to return to growth following the impact of the Humira (adalimumab) patent expiration.

Key Takeaways

  • With an $8.7bn bid for Cerevel, AbbVie is betting that emraclidine and other pipeline assets can grow its neurology portfolio beyond Vraylar and Botox.

The deal arrived six days after AbbVie’s $10.1bn acquisition of ImmunoGen, Inc., a transaction intended to boost its prospects...

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