AbbVie Presents New Data On Upadacitinib For Crohn's Disease

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) announced new data from the phase II study on investigational JAK1 inhibitor, upadacitinib. The 52-week CELEST study evaluated upadacitinib in multiple dosing regimens through week 52 in adult patients with Crohn's disease and who were intolerant or had inadequate response to an immunomodulator or tumor necrosis factor alpha antagonist (TNF-a).

Patients who clinically responded to treatment in the 16-week induction phase maintained their response after the 36-week extension phaseof the study, which evaluated multiple dosing regimens of upadacitinib through week 52.

Please note that results from the 16-week induction phase from the CELEST study were previously announced in May last year.

The improvement seen in patients who were given higher doses (6 mg and 12 mg twice-daily) were numerically greater compared with 3 mg twice-daily at 52 weeks.

Results also showed that those patients who responded to upadacitinib induction treatment at week 16 achieved numerically higher rates of clinical remission and endoscopic response by patients receiving 12 mg dose in the extension phase compared with other other lower doses in 52 weeks.

The study showed that the overall safety profile of upadacitinib was consistent with that observed in other upadacitinib studies, with no new safety signals detected.

These data were presented at the 13th Congress of the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) in Vienna, Austria.

AbbVie’s shares have rallied 92% over a year, outperforming the industry’s growth of 13%.

Separately at the 2018 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in San Diego., the company presentedresults from a phase IIb study evaluating upadacitinib, in adult patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

Upadacitinib also is mainly being investigated in six phase III studies for rheumatoid arthritis. Other studies are also underway for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and psoriatic arthritis.

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Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

AbbVie carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks from the health care space are Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) , XOMA Corp (NASDAQ:XOMA) and Enanta Pharma (NASDAQ:ENTA) . While Exelixis sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), XOMA and Enanta Pharma carry a Zacks Rank #2, each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Exelixis’ earnings per share estimates have moved up from 73 cents to 77 cents for 2018 in the last 60 days. The company delivered positive earnings surprise in the last four quarters, with an average beat of 572.92%. Share price of the company moved up 26.2% over a year.

XOMA’s loss per share estimates have narrowed from 99 cents to 42 cents for 2018 in the last 60 days. The company pulled off a positive earnings surprise in one of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 47.92%. Share price of the company skyrocketed 392.4% over a year.

Enanta Pharma delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 373.1%. Share price of the company surged 179.7% over a year.

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