AbbVie To Acquire Capstan Therapeutics For Up To $2.1 Billion To Boost Immunology Portfolio As Humira Sales Drop: Stock Gains In Morning Trade

AbbVie (ABBV) on Monday announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company Capstan Therapeutics, Inc., in a bid to boost its immunology portfolio.

AbbVie’s stock was up 1.6% at the time of writing.

Under the terms of the deal, AbbVie will pay up to $2.1 billion in cash at closing to acquire Capstan. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, the company said.

The acquisition will include Capstan’s lead asset, called CPTX2309, in development for the treatment of B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. The candidate is currently in early-stage testing.

B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases are conditions where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues, driven by B cells, a type of white blood cell. These diseases can affect various organs and tissues. Examples include rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and multiple sclerosis.

Immunology is one of the strongest portfolios for the U.S. drugmaker AbbVie. In the first quarter of 2025, the company’s global net revenue from the immunology portfolio was $6.264 billion, marking an increase of 16.6% year-on-year.

The company’s key immunology drugs include Skyrizi, Rinvoq, and Humira.

Arthritis drug Humira lost patent protection last year, allowing biosimilar competition to enter the market. As a result, Humira’s global net revenue fell 51% in Q1 to $1.121 billion.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around ABBV is in the ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume is consistently at ‘high’ levels.

Separately, Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company, said on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review the supplemental premarket approval application for Skinvive by Juvederm to reduce neck lines.

Skinvive by Juvederm, an injectable gel, is already approved in the U.S. to improve the skin smoothness of the cheeks for adults over the age of 21. The supplemental application is aimed at adding a new indication for use of the device.

ABBV stock is up by over 4% this year and by about 9% over the past 12 months.

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