en.Wedoany.com Reported - AbbVie has agreed to acquire Apogee Therapeutics for $10.9 billion, a deal aimed at strengthening the buyer's pipeline with a candidate drug for atopic dermatitis (AD). This drug is set to enter Phase III clinical trials in the second half of this year and is seen as a potential challenger to existing blockbuster therapies.

Apogee's lead candidate, zumilokibart (an IL-13 inhibitor, also known as APG777), is a long-acting therapy. According to the company, the drug is being studied for the treatment of multiple immunology and inflammation (I&I) diseases and has "pipeline-in-a-product potential." Canaccord Genuity Managing Director and Senior Biotechnology Analyst Edward Nash believes Apogee's zumilokibart is one of the most attractive assets in the I&I space, differentiated by the potential for dosing every three or six months.

Last month, Apogee reported positive 16-week data from Part B of the Phase II APEX trial (NCT06395948) for zumilokibart in moderate-to-severe AD. The trial met its primary and secondary endpoints with high statistical significance, with 65.9% of patients receiving the mid-dose of zumilokibart achieving EASI-75 (41.9% placebo-adjusted). Based on these results and pending positive regulatory feedback, Apogee plans to advance the mid-dose—which demonstrated the best clinical activity and was well-tolerated among the three doses tested—into Phase III clinical trials.

To support Phase III trials and subsequent development and commercialization, Apogee secured strategic financing of up to $1.3 billion last month. This capital includes up to $800 million in comprehensive royalty funding and up to $500 million in senior corporate debt, subject to mutual agreement between Blackstone and Apogee. Blackstone provides the funding in exchange for a low-to-mid single-digit tiered royalty on global annual sales of zumilokibart for 15 years, with no royalty payable on global annual sales exceeding $8 billion.

The $10.9 billion acquisition of Apogee is the third-largest biopharmaceutical M&A deal announced year-to-date. For AbbVie, acquiring Apogee strengthens its pipeline in the I&I space, where the company previously dominated with the multi-indication blockbuster Humira (adalimumab). AbbVie has developed two successful I&I drugs in recent years: Skyrizi (risankizumab) and Rinvoq (upadacitinib).

Apogee positions zumilokibart as a potential challenger to Dupixent (dupilumab), a blockbuster drug for AD and other indications co-marketed by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. In GEN's recent list of top-selling drugs, Dupixent ranked fifth with $18.124 billion in 2025 sales, a 20.2% increase from 2024. Key U.S. patent exclusivity for Dupixent expires in 2031. Beyond AD, zumilokibart is also being developed for asthma and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).

Apogee's pipeline also includes two combination therapy programs. APG279 is a combination of zumilokibart and the OX40L inhibitor APG990, currently in a Phase I trial (NCT07027527). Another program, APG273, is a preclinical combination of zumilokibart and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) APG333, being developed for asthma and COPD.

AbbVie has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Apogee for $135.11 per share in cash, representing a 49.5% premium over last Friday's closing price. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, including Apogee shareholder approval and regulatory approvals.

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