Botox Therapeutic Passed $1 Billion a QuarterWide moat

AbbVie (ABBV) — moat facet

Medical Botox now sells more than $1 billion a quarter and faces no biosimilar, only a Medicare price from 2028.

The most valuable part of the Allergan acquisition turned out to be a medical drug, not a cosmetic one. Botox Therapeutic, used for chronic migraine, spasticity, overactive bladder and other conditions, sold $3,769 million in 2025, up 14.8%1, against $2,991 million in 20232. Quartz reported that in the first quarter of 2026 global Botox Therapeutic sales passed $1 billion in a single quarter for the first time3. In the second quarter they were $1,042 million4.

Botox Therapeutic net revenues ($M)2,71920222,99120233,28320243,7692025AbbVie Forms 10-K FY2024 and FY2025
Growing faster every year shown.

The protection is unusual. Botox is a biologic made from a toxin, and a number of other companies market products positioned as competitors5, but none has displaced it in its medical uses. The franchise is built on years of clinical evidence and the training of specialists who inject it.

It sits inside AbbVie's neuroscience business, which grew 20.3% to $3,228 million in the second quarter of 20266. Management assumed Botox Therapeutic sales of $4.1 billion for 20267.

The largest change ahead is price. Botox was selected in January 2026 for government-set Medicare prices beginning in 20288, and many of its patients are on Medicare.

The growth is broad across uses. Botox Therapeutic's United States sales were $3,151 million in 2025, up 16.0%, and international sales $618 million9. Its growth rate has been rising: about 10% in 2024 and 14.8% in 202510, unusual for a product approved decades ago.

This is a wide franchise with a known pricing event. Its growth rate is the number to follow: 14.8% in 2025, and growth that continues after 2028 would mean volume can outrun the government price.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Grew 14.8% in 2025; passed $1bn a quarter in 2026.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Botox Therapeutic sales, latest quarter
$1,042M (Q2 2026)

The medical toxin franchise; growth continuing after the 2028 Medicare price would show volume beats price.

Source: AbbVie Q2 2026 results release ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Other Toxins Positioned as Competitors
Other toxins already compete with Botox in cosmetics, and the medical market is the one they have not yet cracked.
References
  1. ReportedBotox Therapeutic, used for chronic migraine, spasticity, overactive bladder and other conditions, sold $3,769 million in 2025, up 14.8%, against $2,991 million in 2023.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 MD&A: net revenues by product and region, and rebates. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedBotox Therapeutic, used for chronic migraine, spasticity, overactive bladder and other conditions, sold $3,769 million in 2025, up 14.8%, against $2,991 million in 2023.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 MD&A: net revenues by product and region, and rebates. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedQuartz reported that in the first quarter of 2026 global Botox Therapeutic sales passed $1 billion in a single quarter for the first time.
    Quartz, AbbVie first-quarter 2026 results: global Botox Therapeutic sales passed $1 billion in a quarter for the first time. — Q1 2026 · publ. 29 April 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedIn the second quarter they were $1,042 million.
    AbbVie second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedBotox is a biologic made from a toxin, and a number of other companies market products positioned as competitors, but none has displaced it in its medical uses.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 MD&A: net revenues by product and region, and rebates. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedIt sits inside AbbVie's neuroscience business, which grew 20.3% to $3,228 million in the second quarter of 2026.
    AbbVie second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedManagement assumed Botox Therapeutic sales of $4.1 billion for 2026.
    The Motley Fool, AbbVie Q4 2025 earnings call transcript - 2026 revenue assumptions by product and management's comments on share and competitors. — Q4 2025 · publ. 4 February 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedBotox was selected in January 2026 for government-set Medicare prices beginning in 2028, and many of its patients are on Medicare.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1A risk factors, patents and exclusivity, government pricing and legal proceedings. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedBotox Therapeutic's United States sales were $3,151 million in 2025, up 16.0%, and international sales $618 million.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 7 MD&A: net revenues by product and region, and rebates. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedIts growth rate has been rising: about 10% in 2024 and 14.8% in 2025, unusual for a product approved decades ago.
    AbbVie Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business: products, customers, competition and research. — FY2025 · publ. 20 February 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026