Test tubes are seen in front of an AbbVie logo in this illustration taken on May 21, 2021.
Ruvic Dice | Reuters
Abvie on Tuesday said veteran executive Robert Michael will become the company's new chief executive, replacing Richard Gonzalez.
Michael, president and chief operating officer of AbbVie, will become the company's second CEO on July 1. González, who has run the company since it separated from Abbott Laboratories In 2013, he will retire and become CEO of AbbVie.
The announcement marks the end of González's successful tenure as CEO of AbbVie, which became one of the largest companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry in less than a decade.
It also comes as AbbVie faces one of the pharmaceutical industry's biggest exclusivity losses, as its blockbuster autoimmune drug Humira faces new competition from biosimilars. But the company is pinning its hopes on a pair of newer immune drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq, to offset Humira's losses.
AbbVie expects those two drugs to post $16 billion in sales this year and $27 billion by 2027, executives said during an earnings call earlier this month.
“The board and I have been planning a smooth CEO succession for some time. Now is the right time to hand over the CEO role to Rob,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “The business is performing very well and is in a strong long-term position. Our pipeline contains multiple promising candidates to sustain our strong future growth.”
Michael has spent more than a decade rising through the ranks of AbbVie's senior management, playing a key role in executing recent deals such as the company's acquisition of neuroscience drug maker Cerevel Therapeutics and anti-inflammatory drug developer Cancer ImmunoGen.
He previously spent nearly 20 years at Abbott Laboratories, overseeing business divisions such as molecular diagnostics and nutrition supply chain.
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