AbbVie Ups Ante on JAK Inhibitor

By Maxx Chatsko – May 30, 2013 at 6:31PM

NYSE: PFE

Pfizer

Market Cap

$143B

Today's Change

(-3.85%) -$1.01

Current Price

$25.26

Price as of April 25, 2024, 4:00 p.m. ET

A Fool recaps the importance of AbbVie's decision to expand the development of a promising anti-inflammatory drug.

In the following video, Fool contributor Maxx Chatsko updates AbbVie (ABBV -0.30%) investors on momentum-building developments around promising drug collaboration. AbbVie and Belgium pharma company Galapagos were already partnered to develop a selective JAK1 inhibitor for rheumatoid arthritis, but why stop there? The two announced that the potential-packed therapy under development would also be expanded to include Crohn's disease.

What the heck is a JAK inhibitor, and why does it matter? JAK inhibitors are small molecules that transcend the cell membrane and cell communication process to regulate immune response for inflammatory diseases. Given the success of biologics in treating inflammatory diseases and cancers, pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop JAK inhibitors. Could bringing such a drug to market help AbbVie survive Humira's fall over the patent cliff? Get more details in the video below.

Fool contributor Maxx Chatsko has no position in any stocks mentioned. Check out his personal portfolio, his CAPS page, or follow him on Twitter @BlacknGoldFool to keep up with his writing on energy, bioprocessing, and emerging technologies.

The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.