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Plus, news about the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Tonix: AbbVie’s Rinvoq gets label expansion: The blockbuster JAK inhibitor won approval in the US to treat adults with giant cell arteritis, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the arteries, often in the scalp and head. Rinvoq was approved in Europe for the same condition earlier this month. — Nicole DeFeudis #AUA2025: Relmada Therapeutics’ interim Phase 2 data in bladder cancer: The company said NDV-01, a reformulation of two chemo drugs, achieved an 85% overall response rate in 20 patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Two patients with carcinoma in situ achieved a complete response. Already below $1.00, Relmada’s stock price $RLMD was down 18% on Tuesday morning. — Max Gelman Novo Nordisk Foundation expands certain grants beyond Denmark: The grants, which are awarded through the foundation’s annual Challenge Programme, will now be available to researchers in most of Europe. The new area includes Europe’s Schengen area — this accounts for most EU member countries plus a handful of non-member countries — Ireland and the UK. The overall budget for grants this year is DKK 600 million (€80 million). — Max Gelman Tonix discontinues cocaine intoxication trial: The biotech discontinued the Phase 2 study for TNX-1300 due to slower-than-projected enrollment, it said in an SEC filing last week. — Max Gelman Hello, Mark Smith You’re an essential part of the biopharma world. Share your voice on this important question to help shape our understanding of the industry. Can you help us out? Hello, Mark Smith You’re an essential part of the biopharma world. Share your voice on this important question to help shape our understanding of the industry. Can you help us out?

Should pharmaceutical-specific tariffs come down, AbbVie expects the impact on its operations to be “in line with our peers,” the company's CEO said Friday. With the potential for pharmaceutical import tariffs spurring a rush of life sciences investments in the U.S., AbbVie is joining the trend with plans to spend billions in the country over the next decade.AbbVie aims to invest $10 billion in the U.S. through 2035 to support its current growth plans and expand into new areas like obesity, the Chicago drugmaker’s CEO, Rob Michael, said on a call with analysts Friday.AbbVie’s executives did not go into the fine details of the domestic investment plan on the call, though the company’s CFO Scott Reents noted that a portion of the sum will be earmarked to build four new U.S. production facilities devoted to active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), drug product, peptides and devices.The company, like many of its pharma peers, is bracing for potential sector-specific tariffs on pharmaceuticals under the Trump administration, which has made import duties a cornerstone of its trade policy.Pharmaceuticals were exempt from an initial round of reciprocal tariffs President Donald Trump unveiled in early April, though comments from the administration and an ongoing probe into drug imports suggest the biopharma industry will soon face levies of its own. Should those pharmaceutical-specific tariffs come down, AbbVie expects the impact on its operations to be “in line with our peers,” Michael said on the call.He credited that expected resilience to AbbVie’s already-strong manufacturing presence in the U.S., which boasts a workforce of 6,000 employees across 11 sites producing API, small molecules, biologics and toxins. Plus, AbbVie’s top-selling drug, Skyrizi, is made in the U.S., the CEO added.Nevertheless, AbbVie is bracing for potential near-term headwinds if pharmaceutical tariffs touch down, said CFO Reents.“We are actively preparing for a number of potential scenarios and would expect to put into place mitigation strategies as we have more information relevant to these dynamics,” he explained.While the manufacturing expansion constitutes AbbVie’s long-term strategy, the company could explore alternative API sources or implement “productivity initiatives” to weather any trade turbulence in the near term, Michael said.“I think what’s more challenging is trying to pass the tariff impacts to our customers, especially with penalties in the government channel and with existing contracts in the commercial setting,” the CEO said. “So, I don’t see that as a viable source for mitigation.”During the call, the executives also reflected on AbbVie’s policy preference in light of expected tariffs.“As we continue to invest and grow our U.S. operational footprint, we believe a more competitive tax policy, building on what was accomplished through 2017 tax reform, will encourage a sustainable shift towards U.S. manufacturing over the long term,” Reents explained.The executives made their remarks as AbbVie reported $13.34 billion in first-quarter revenues for 2025, good for an 8.4% increase year over year. The company’s first-quarter earnings haul beat Wall Street estimates of $12.9 billion, according to a note from analysts at William Blair.Immunology sales continued to lead the charge, with the company’s bell cow Skyrizi trumping up roughly $3.43 billion for the period. Rinvoq also performed well, growing sales 57% to $1.7 billion.Meanwhile, Humira—which is now facing biosimilar erosion on all fronts—experienced a sales drop of 50% to $1.12 billion in the quarter.Humira now comprises just 8% of AbbVie’s total revenue, down 3% quarter over quarter, analysts at Citi wrote in a Friday note to clients. The continued downturn of the former megablockbuster reflects its “diminishing importance on topline growth,” the team said.Looking ahead, AbbVie is boosting its guidance for the year and now expects to bring home full-year sales of $59.7 billion, up $700 million from the company’s previous forecast, Reents said on the call.The CFO attributed that adjustment to updated predictions for a number of AbbVie’s key drugs, including Skyrizi in psoriasis and IBD, Rinvoq across all its indications, and lower Humira sales, he explained. The company also expects sales of Botox, Imbruvica, Venclexta and its oral CGRPs to come in modestly above its previous predictions for the full year, Reents said. AbbVie is just the latest major drugmaker to beef up its U.S. investment as the threat of pharmaceutical tariffs loom.This week alone, Thermo Fisher, Regeneron and Roche revealed major outlays in the States.Prior to that, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson have made major pledges to increase their U.S. footprints, unveiling investments ranging from $23 billion to $55 billion.