Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
One of the decade's great bargains: AbbVie's $595M buyout of Boehringer's risankizumab rights, struck right before Skyrizi's April 2019 approval, turned into AbbVie's top-selling product at $11,718M in 2024 revenue — though the deal's success still hinged on displacing AbbVie's own Humira.
Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →AbbVie paid Boehringer $595M upfront plus $1.6B in potential milestones for Phase III anti-IL-23 BI 655066—taking sole worldwide marketing rights to a key…
Skyrizi FDA approval validated AbbVie's $595M Boehringer buyout; analysts highlighted the asset as a centerpiece of AbbVie's stated $35B+ non-Humira immunology…
AbbVie positioned Skyrizi against Stelara on superior PASI 90 trial data and priced $59K annual maintenance below leading rivals; Cosentyx remained 'fast…
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AbbVie paid Boehringer Ingelheim $595M to terminate their risankizumab collaboration, giving AbbVie sole worldwide rights. The buyout occurred just before FDA approval of Skyrizi for plaque psoriasis on April 23, 2019. Post-close outcome: the buyout proved decisively value-accretive. Skyrizi became AbbVie's single largest product, overtaking Humira, with global net revenue of $11,718M in full-year 2024 (AbbVie FY2024 8-K) and approximately $17.5B in full-year 2025 (Q4 2025 earnings), making the $595M one-time payment one of the most accretive rights buyouts of the decade.
Assessment window: 5yr post-close.
Plaque psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease driven by IL-23/IL-17 axis dysregulation, presenting as well-demarcated erythematous plaques with silvery scale on extensor surfaces, scalp, and trunk. It is the most common form of psoriasis (80-90% of cases), affects ~6-7 million US adults, and carries comorbid risk for psoriatic arthritis, cardiometabolic disease, and depression—creating a large biologic-eligible population beyond skin clearance alone.
The plaque psoriasis biologic market is highly competitive across three mechanism classes. TNF inhibitors (AbbVie's Humira, Amgen's Enbrel, J&J's Remicade) anchor first-line biologic use but face biosimilar erosion. IL-17 inhibitors (Novartis's Cosentyx, Lilly's Taltz, UCB's Bimzelx) deliver rapid skin clearance and lead in many derm practices. IL-23 inhibitors—J&J's Stelara (IL-12/23 p40), Tremfya (IL-23 p19), Sun Pharma's Ilumya, and AbbVie's Skyrizi (risankizumab)—offer durable response with quarterly dosing. Skyrizi's pivotal head-to-head data showed superior PASI 90 versus Stelara at week 16 and durable response through one year, plus a list price ($59,000/year) AbbVie positioned below leading rivals. The $595M Boehringer buyout consolidated worldwide rights ahead of April 2019 FDA approval, replacing co-promotion economics with full P&L capture. Strategically, Skyrizi anchors AbbVie's post-Humira immunology franchise alongside Rinvoq, with management projecting $5B+ peak sales and label expansion into psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's, and ulcerative colitis. Source: https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/abbvie-skyrizi-fda-approval-blockbuster-psoriasis-competition/553352/
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| AbbVie Inc. / Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (Risankizumab buyout) (this deal) | 2019 | $595M | — |
| AbbVie Inc. / Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH | 2016 | $2.2B | 95 |
| AbbVie Inc. / Genmab A/S | 2020 | $3.9B | 81 |
| AbbVie Inc. / Pharmacyclics Inc. | 2015 | $21.0B | 79 |
| AbbVie Inc. / Apogee Therapeutics, Inc. | 2026 | $10.9B | 72 |
| AbbVie Inc. / ImmunoGen Inc. | 2023 | $10.1B | 69 |
| AbbVie Inc. / Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2024 | $2.0B | 64 |
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More: 2019 deals · AbbVie Inc. deals · Dermatology deals