AbbVie is poised to seal a $10.9bn cash purchase of biotech Apogee Therapeutics, offering a roughly 60% premium to Thursday’s closing price. The deal would be AbbVie’s largest bolt‑on since 2020 and could be announced as early as Monday, pending final approvals. The transaction arrives amid a $200bn biotech buying spree this year, highlighting pharma's pipeline push.

Apogee’s lead candidate, zumilokibart, is a long‑acting alternative to Dupixent, the $17.8bn inflammatory blockbuster co‑developed by Sanofi and Regeneron. While Dupixent requires biweekly dosing, zumilokibart is being tested as an injection every three to six months, potentially widening its use across atopic dermatitis, asthma and other inflammatory conditions. Positive phase‑three results would position it against Dupixent in a $200bn global market.

The acquisition slots into AbbVie’s strategy to reinforce its immunology franchise after Humira lost patent protection and faced biosimilar erosion. By adding a pipeline drug that could replace Dupixent, AbbVie strengthens its position in a market where GSK recently paid $10.6bn for oncology biotech Nuvalent. The deal would push AbbVie’s cash‑flow outlook higher this fiscal year, strengthening earnings and shareholder returns.