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Does Decnupaz Approval Validate ABBV's ADC Strategy in Oncology?
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Key Takeaways
AbbVie won FDA approval for Decnupaz to treat adult BPDCN, its first blood cancer ADC.
AbbVie now markets three ADCs, combining internal development with the ImmunoGen acquisition.
ABBV is advancing Temab-A and studying Decnupaz in AML to broaden its ADC pipeline.
AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) continues to strengthen its oncology franchise. Last week, the company secured FDA approval for Decnupaz (pivekimab sunirine) to treat adult patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), a rare and aggressive blood cancer with limited treatment options. This approval marks a milestone for ABBV, making Decnupaz its first antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for a blood cancer indication.
The approval also highlights the company’s growing focus on ADCs as a key pillar of its oncology strategy. This drug class is widely viewed as one of the most promising innovations in cancer treatment due to its ability to selectively deliver cancer-killing agents to tumor cells.
Including Decnupaz, AbbVie now markets a total of three ADCs — the other two being Elahere (for ovarian cancer) and Emrelis (for lung cancer). While Emrelis was developed internally, Elahere and Decnupaz were added through the company’s $10.1 billion acquisition of ImmunoGen, underscoring its dual approach of advancing in-house programs while pursuing strategic acquisitions to strengthen its ADC platform.
AbbVie is also advancing several investigational ADCs across multiple tumor types. One such candidate, Temab-A, is in late-stage development for metastatic colorectal cancer and is also being studied in several mid-stage studies for other cancer indications. The company is evaluating Decnupaz for a second indication, acute myeloid leukemia, in a phase II study. Beyond these programs, AbbVie has other early-stage ADC assets in development, reflecting its ambition to build a broader ADC platform across both hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
ABBV’s Competition in the ADC Space
Other large drugmakers are also investing heavily in ADCs. AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) has established a strong presence in the space through its collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo, which has yielded two approved ADCs, Enhertu and Datroway. Like AbbVie, AstraZeneca is advancing several additional ADC candidates across different cancer indications to further strengthen its oncology portfolio.
Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) expanded its ADC footprint through the $43 billion acquisition of Seagen in 2023. The deal added multiple marketed ADCs to PFE’s portfolio, including Adcetris, Padcev and Tivdak, approved across multiple cancer indications. Pfizer is also leveraging Seagen's ADC technology platform to advance additional oncology candidates.
ABBV’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of AbbVie have underperformed the industry year to date, as seen in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is trading at a discount to the industry. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 14.33 times forward earnings compared to the industry's average of 16.92.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Movements in EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have increased in the past 30 days.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Does Decnupaz Approval Validate ABBV's ADC Strategy in Oncology?
Key Takeaways
AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) continues to strengthen its oncology franchise. Last week, the company secured FDA approval for Decnupaz (pivekimab sunirine) to treat adult patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), a rare and aggressive blood cancer with limited treatment options. This approval marks a milestone for ABBV, making Decnupaz its first antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for a blood cancer indication.
The approval also highlights the company’s growing focus on ADCs as a key pillar of its oncology strategy. This drug class is widely viewed as one of the most promising innovations in cancer treatment due to its ability to selectively deliver cancer-killing agents to tumor cells.
Including Decnupaz, AbbVie now markets a total of three ADCs — the other two being Elahere (for ovarian cancer) and Emrelis (for lung cancer). While Emrelis was developed internally, Elahere and Decnupaz were added through the company’s $10.1 billion acquisition of ImmunoGen, underscoring its dual approach of advancing in-house programs while pursuing strategic acquisitions to strengthen its ADC platform.
AbbVie is also advancing several investigational ADCs across multiple tumor types. One such candidate, Temab-A, is in late-stage development for metastatic colorectal cancer and is also being studied in several mid-stage studies for other cancer indications. The company is evaluating Decnupaz for a second indication, acute myeloid leukemia, in a phase II study. Beyond these programs, AbbVie has other early-stage ADC assets in development, reflecting its ambition to build a broader ADC platform across both hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
ABBV’s Competition in the ADC Space
Other large drugmakers are also investing heavily in ADCs. AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) has established a strong presence in the space through its collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo, which has yielded two approved ADCs, Enhertu and Datroway. Like AbbVie, AstraZeneca is advancing several additional ADC candidates across different cancer indications to further strengthen its oncology portfolio.
Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) expanded its ADC footprint through the $43 billion acquisition of Seagen in 2023. The deal added multiple marketed ADCs to PFE’s portfolio, including Adcetris, Padcev and Tivdak, approved across multiple cancer indications. Pfizer is also leveraging Seagen's ADC technology platform to advance additional oncology candidates.
ABBV’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of AbbVie have underperformed the industry year to date, as seen in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is trading at a discount to the industry. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 14.33 times forward earnings compared to the industry's average of 16.92.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Movements in EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have increased in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.