AbbVie

AbbVie Completes $63 Billion Allergan Acquisition: Pharmaceutical Industry Consolidates Into Oligopoly

| Importance: 9/10

AbbVie completed its $63 billion acquisition of Allergan after FTC approval requiring divestiture of digestive drug brazikumab to resolve antitrust concerns. The merger created a pharmaceutical giant with combined 2019 revenues of $48 billion and a diversified portfolio spanning immunology, …

AbbVie Allergan Federal Trade Commission antitrust consolidation merger pharmaceutical-industry regulatory-capture +3 more
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AbbVie Humira Patent Thicket Delays US Biosimilars Until 2023 Despite 2016 Patent Expiration and European Competition

| Importance: 9/10

AbbVie reached settlement agreements with eight biosimilar manufacturers that allowed immediate biosimilar competition in Europe starting October 16, 2018, but delayed all US market entry until 2023—seven years after Humira’s original patent expired in December 2016. The settlements ended …

AbbVie Amgen Samsung Bioepis Mylan Boehringer Ingelheim +3 more pharmaceutical-industry patent-abuse drug-pricing healthcare evergreening +2 more
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Johns Hopkins Study Exposes Orphan Drug Act Gaming - Seven of Top 10 Drugs Exploiting Tax Breaks for Rare Diseases

| Importance: 9/10

Johns Hopkins researchers published findings demonstrating that pharmaceutical companies were systematically gaming the 1983 Orphan Drug Act by obtaining orphan drug designations—intended for treatments of rare diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans—for blockbuster drugs generating billions …

Johns Hopkins University FDA AbbVie Roche Johnson & Johnson +4 more pharmaceutical-industry regulatory-capture tax-avoidance drug-pricing healthcare +2 more
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