The Hole in AbbVie Inc (ABBV)’s 2013

Now that fenofibrates have gone the way of the dodo, at least in branded pharmaceutical terms, the revenue impact is coming fast and furious. AbbVie already suffered a substantial 51% drop in sales as generic competition took hold in the fourth quarter. All told, AbbVie management expects its lipid franchise, which contains the TriCor/Trilipix duo and another drug called Niaspan that is also subject to generic competition in September 2013, to fall below $1 billion in 2013.

Foolish bottom line
While Humira remains AbbVie’s rock-star drug, at least for the next few years, the impact of generic competition for its secondary lineup has AbbVie management conceding to the fact that 2013 and 2014 “will be a time of transition.”  On its recent 2013 guidance call, management noted that sales will remain relatively flat as generic losses mute continued growth in Humira. Generic competition is a way of life in the pharma business, and as we’ll cover in future articles, there’s only one way to offset those losses — continued innovation.

The article The Hole in AbbVie’s 2013 originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Brenton Flynn.

Brenton Flynn has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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