AbbVie's skin disease drug reduces lesions in trial, company eyes weight-loss combination (updated)

Merck & Co

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Adds analyst comment in paragraph 7
By Christy Santhosh
Oct 22 (Reuters) - AbbVie ABBV.N said on Thursday its experimental drug significantly reduced inflammatory lumps and abscesses in patients with a chronic skin disease, meeting the main goal of a late-stage study.
AbbVie is betting on the drug, lutikizumab, to broaden its immunology franchise, and supplement the growth from its blockbuster drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq. 
The company expects to begin testing lutikizumab alongside its experimental weight-loss drug, ABBV-295, by the end of the year, AbbVie's immunology head, Kori Wallace, told Reuters. 
The combination aims to address obesity, which can worsen the skin condition.
Lutikizumab was tested in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa, or acne inversa, a condition marked by small, painful lumps to form under the skin.
In the 1,400-patient trial, about 31% of patients treated with lutikizumab achieved at least a 75% reduction in inflammatory skin lesions after 16 weeks, compared with 23% of those on placebo.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said the drug's efficacy appears clinically meaningful, but may be directionally lower than competitors such as Belgian drugmaker UCB's UCB.BR  Bimzelx and Merck's MRK.N experimental drug tulisokibart.
COMBINATION OPPORTUNITIES

        AbbVie licensed its weight-loss drug ABBV-295 from Danish biotech Gubra in 2025. It's designed to mimic amylin, a hormone that helps regulate appetite and food intake.
"Majority of patients with HS are obese and that weight actually drives worse disease activity. Bringing down weight with our anti-inflammatory could really lead to increased efficacy in patients," AbbVie's Wallace said.
The company is also testing Rinvoq, its arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease drug, in hidradenitis suppurativa, with late-stage trial results expected by the end of 2026.
Wallace said the company sees an opportunity for lutikizumab both as a standalone treatment and as part of a "one-two punch" with Rinvoq in HS. 
RBC Capital analysts expect the market for hidradenitis suppurativa treatments to exceed $10 billion by 2035.

 (Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((Christy.Santhosh@thomsonreuters.com;))