Three years after AbbVie lost exclusive rights to its immunology blockbuster Humira, leaving it on the brink of a major patent cliff, CEO Robert Michael can say with certainty: “AbbVie has never been in a stronger position.”
A big part of AbbVie and Michael’s credibility comes from the company’s fast-growing Humira successor, SkyRigi. If it wasn’t clear before that Skyrizi was on track to climb even higher heights than its predecessor, it’s hard to deny it now. Five years after Humira’s quarterly sales peaked at $4.86 billion in the first quarter of 2021, Skyrizi pocketed $4.48 billion in first-quarter 2026 first-quarter proprietary sales.
The drug’s quarterly growth rate of 30.9% “exceeded our expectations,” Chief Commercial Officer Jeffrey Stewart said on the company’s conference call. Skrizi maintains “clear leadership” in the growing psoriasis market, and its quarterly dosing and sustained efficacy hold a “clear advantage” over existing treatments in this space, Stewart added.
AbbVie has long maintained confidence in Skyridi amid competition from companies such as Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya, which has many of the same psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) indications as AbbVie’s star drug. But as of March, J&J has what appears to be a powerful new rival in its once-daily psoriasis treatment Icotide, which the company has called a “potential game-changer” for patients.
In response, AbbVie’s Stewart emphasized that Icotyde, which is “very early” in its release, “is not an oral Skyrizi.”
“When you match all the controls, the efficacy parameters are pretty low and you understand the population, so our medical and commercial teams can emphasize that,” Stewart said, adding that psoriatic arthritis (PsA), for which Skyrizi was approved in 2022, is a “huge market value driver.”
“There’s not a lot of evidence” on Icotyde’s side, the official said, referring to PsA. J&J is currently studying the drug in two PSA studies, but results are not yet available.
Icotide’s main selling point in psoriasis is its once-daily oral administration, whereas Skyrizi and other biologics are administered by injection. However, Stewart argues that there are “some complexities” to oral adherence in psoriasis.
“We are well prepared for this dynamic, and we think we can successfully navigate this competitor,” Stewart said. Stewart added that the company is also preparing for potential market expansion due to increased competition, as was the case with the introduction of Amgen’s Otezla in 2014.
AbbVie is “very aware” of its competition, according to CEO Michael. Skyridge is expected to have total net revenues of $21.6 billion in 2026, Chief Financial Officer Scott Lients said on a conference call, an increase of $100 million from the previous forecast due to “demand growth in the psoriasis and IBD indications.”
Although total sales growth for the year remains “generally in line” with prior expectations, the company has raised its full-year sales forecast from $67 billion to $67.3 billion and added an additional $300 million based on currency effects, Lients added.
AbbVie’s total revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was $15 billion, an increase of 12.4% year over year.
Besides its immunology catalog, which drew total sales of $7.29 billion in the first quarter, the company highlighted neuroscience pharmaceuticals as its next largest franchise. AbbVie is hard at work developing another neuroscience blockbuster with its Parkinson’s disease drug Vyarev, as the company generates $2.87 billion in revenue across the field.
The therapy reduced quarterly sales by $201 million and is “on track” to exceed the $1 billion sales threshold this year, Stewart noted on the conference call. Meanwhile, atypical antipsychotic drug company Vreiler raised $905 million after touting its “significant leadership” in bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.
“We have never been in such a strong position,” Michael said. “We are the clear leader in immunology and neuroscience, with a portfolio of assets showing very strong growth, often over 20%, and a pipeline in both areas that will deliver innovative improvements to existing treatments.”
