⚠ A Lawsuit Over How Humira Was RebatedLow threat

AbbVie (ABBV) — threat to the moat

A health plan is suing AbbVie on the theory that its rebates kept Humira biosimilars off formularies, the same tool it will need for Skyrizi.

AbbVie's rebating practices are being tested in court. A health plan lawsuit filed in January 2025, Sheet Metal Workers' Health Plan v. AbbVie, alleges that AbbVie's rebating practices are impairing biosimilar competition with Humira1. Another suit over Humira's list price was dismissed without prejudice in January 20262.

Litigation accrual ($bn)2.5End-20241.6End-2025AbbVie Form 10-K FY2025
Covering many matters, including Humira pricing.

The legal theory matters beyond Humira. If rebates offered in exchange for exclusive or preferred coverage are found to block competitors, the same tools could be restricted for Skyrizi and Rinvoq when their biosimilars arrive.

AbbVie's litigation accrual was approximately $1.6 billion at the end of 2025, down from $2.5 billion a year earlier3, covering a range of matters.

Antitrust scrutiny is not new to AbbVie. The Niaspan antitrust multidistrict litigation, over an older cholesterol drug, is still ongoing4. Cases like these take years, and their main danger is not damages but restrictions on practices, such as rebates tied to exclusivity, that the company will need again.

The case's progress is what to watch. A ruling that rebate-for-exclusion arrangements are anticompetitive would weaken the main defence AbbVie will have in the 2030s.

References
  1. ReportedA health plan lawsuit filed in January 2025, Sheet Metal Workers' Health Plan v. AbbVie, alleges that AbbVie's rebating practices are impairing biosimilar competition with Humira.
    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 ↗
  2. ReportedAnother suit over Humira's list price was dismissed without prejudice in January 2026.
    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. ReportedAbbVie's litigation accrual was approximately $1.6 billion at the end of 2025, down from $2.5 billion a year earlier, covering a range of matters.
    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 ↗
  4. ReportedThe Niaspan antitrust multidistrict litigation, over an older cholesterol drug, is still ongoing.
    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 ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026