NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) – Soaring U.S. sales of the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira helped AbbVie post a profit of $1.52-billion for the fourth quarter and match Wall Street’s earnings expectations.
The drugmaker said Friday that U.S. sales of Humira jumped 21 percent in the quarter, driven by growth in all of its major treatment categories: rheumatology, dermatology and gastroenterology. Worldwide, Humira brought in $3.72 billion in sales during the quarter and more than $14 billion during the year.
Cost-cutting also helped AbbVie Inc. in the quarter. The North Chicago, Illinois, company’s selling, general and administrative expenses dropped 48 percent to $1.74 billion.
AbbVie also pulled in $554 million from its hepatitis C treatment Viekira, which launched late in 2014.
Overall, AbbVie recorded adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share in the final quarter of 2015, while revenue climbed more than 17 percent to $6.4 billion.