With Rova-T killed, spotlight shifts to AbbVie’s hematology, immunology franchises

The final clinical failure of a program AbbVie once regarded as the "anchor asset" in its solid tumor portfolio leaves AbbVie with little or nothing to show for its acquisition of Stemcentrx in 2016 for $5.8 billion up front.

Without any of the nearly $5 billion in peak annual revenues it hoped to gain from sales of antibody-drug conjugate Rova-T rovalpituzumab tesirine, the company will need to rely on drugs in its hematological oncology portfolio to drive growth in its cancer business. New launches in autoimmune disease have also begun to come online, giving AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) a path to revenue that can replace some of what it stands to lose when top seller Humira adalimumab faces U.S. biosimilar competition beginning in 2023...