AbbVie agrees $10 billion oncology acquisition

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AbbVie has agreed to acquire ImmunoGen and its first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) ELAHERE ^® (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), for a total of approximately $10.1 billion.

The antibody-drug conjugate is the first to be approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC) and show meaningful survival benefit for this form of the disease. As a folate receptor alpha (FRα) with a maytansinoid payload DM4, a potent tubulin inhibitor, the biologic medicine offers expansion opportunities in earlier lines of therapy and larger segments of the ovarian cancer market over the next five to 10 years. As such, ongoing clinical development programmes are underway, according to AbbVie.

The new proposed addition to AbbVie’s portfolio

The proposed acquisition will accelerate AbbVie’s entry into the commercial market for ovarian cancer.

Richard Gonzalez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for AbbVie stated that the acquisition of ImmunoGen enables the company to further diversify its oncology pipeline across solid tumours and haematologic malignancies.

For example, ImmunoGen’s next-generation anti-FRα antibody-drug conjugate IMGN-151, an ovarian cancer treatment with the potential for expansion into other solid tumour indications, is currently being evaluated in Phase I. Additionally, anti-CD123 antibody-drug conjugate Pivekimab sunirine is in Phase II. The treatment is targeting the rare blood cancer blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN).

Regulatory approvals for the antibody-drug conjugate

Antibody-drug conjugate ELAHERE was granted an accelerated marketing approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2022. It was indicated as a treatment for adult patients with FRα positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, who have received one to three prior systemic treatment regimens, AbbVie noted. This indication is authorised under accelerated approval based on tumour response rate and durability of response.

Positive results from the confirmatory MIRASOL Phase III trial will support marketing application submissions to the US FDA with the aim of gaining full approval, the company highlighted.

The transaction is expected to close in the middle of 2024, subject to certain customary closing conditions.