Global big pharma (large drugmakers) are opening their wallets one after another to secure new drugs for immune diseases.
U.S. drugmaker AbbVie acquired an immunology biotech for $10.9 billion (about 14.56 trillion won), and U.S.-based Eli Lilly and Company also put up to $2.875 billion (about 3.83 trillion won) into securing technology to treat autoimmune diseases. Germany's C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG moved to discover new drugs using artificial intelligence (AI) and patient data.
One reason big pharma are focusing on immune diseases is that a large market already exists. Atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma have many patients and long treatment durations as chronic diseases, so once an effective therapy emerges, steady long-term sales can be expected.
In fact, global drugmakers have successively turned immune-disease treatments into blockbusters. A clear example is AbbVie, which established itself as a powerhouse in immunology by repeatedly succeeding in developing and commercializing therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company posted $30.460 billion (about 40.62 trillion won) in sales from its immunology portfolio in 2025. That was up 14.0% from the previous year.
That does not mean the market is saturated. There are still patients whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by existing treatments or whose efficacy wanes. Issues also remain in the treatment process, such as infection risk and dosing convenience.
New drug development technology is also advancing. In the past, the focus was on broadly suppressing immune responses; recently, research has become more specialized, selectively blocking or removing only specific immune pathways or autoantibodies that cause disease. Technology has also emerged that uses AI to analyze patient-specific immune characteristics and identify new therapeutic targets.
For big pharma, whether they secure next-generation therapies that can overcome the limits of existing treatments in the market determines the growth of their corporations, so they are continuing acquisitions and investments to secure their next growth engines.
◇ AbbVie secures a "long-lasting antibody"
AbbVie on the 3rd (local time) completed its acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics. It paid $135.11 per share, for a total of $10.9 billion (about 14.56 trillion won).
Apogee's lead candidate is a half-life–extended antibody targeting IL-13, "zumilokibart (APG777)," which is being developed for atopic dermatitis and asthma, among others.
AbbVie has grown in immunology with Skyrizi and Rinvoq at the forefront. The acquisition is also a strategy to secure a next-generation pipeline that can be connected to its existing sales network and research and development capabilities.
Zumilokibart blocks IL-13, which is involved in atopic dermatitis and asthma, while being engineered to keep the antibody in the body longer. In phase 2 trials, responses were maintained for a year even when dosed every three or six months.
Based on this, AbbVie expects that, if commercialized, zumilokibart could significantly reduce the number of injections compared with Dupixent, the leading existing therapy. In particular, because biologics such as Dupixent are already established in the atopic treatment market, a latecomer drug needs differentiation to capture share. That is why AbbVie focused on zumilokibart's long duration of effect and dosing convenience.
◇ Lilly directly removes "autoantibodies" that cause disease
Eli Lilly and Company bet on technology that directly targets the causative agents of autoimmune diseases.
Lilly on the 31st of last month (local time) said it would acquire Merida Biosciences (hereafter Merida) for up to $2.875 billion (about 3.83 trillion won).
Merida has technology that selectively removes autoantibodies that cause disease. Its lead candidate, "MER511," is being developed for Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease.
Merida's technology is drawing attention because it targets the autoantibodies that cause disease. In Graves' disease, autoantibodies that stimulate the thyroid cause excessive thyroid hormone secretion, and MER511 is designed to selectively remove these autoantibodies.
While existing treatments focus on modulating immune responses or treating the consequences of disease, Merida has chosen an approach that directly eliminates the antibodies that cause disease. The goal is to preserve normal immune function as much as possible.
This is also what drew Lilly's attention. The technology can be expanded to various autoimmune and allergic diseases in which specific autoantibodies act as the cause. In fact, beyond Graves' disease, Merida is developing candidates targeting food allergies, asthma, and chronic spontaneous urticaria.
◇ Boehringer uses AI and data to discover new drugs
C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG on the 2nd (local time) signed a licensing deal with AI corporations Okin and said it would accelerate the discovery of cancer and immunology treatments using the AI drug discovery platform "K Pro" and multi-patient data.
Okin will provide Boehringer with multi-patient oncology data and generate new data in the field of immune diseases.
Boehringer researchers will use K Pro to analyze these data, generate or validate new therapeutic hypotheses, and decide which targets to prioritize for development. Rather than delegating drug discovery to AI alone, the approach combines AI and patient data with the decision-making of existing researchers.
Earlier, in 2025, Boehringer conducted research using tumor microenvironment data in a pilot project with Okin, and this agreement effectively expands that to cancer and immune diseases.
Global healthcare data and consulting corporations IQVIA projected that growth in the immunology market will continue. However, it said growth patterns will diverge by disease area even within immunology. IQVIA projected that growth will slow in autoimmune diseases due to the spread of biosimilars and intensifying competition, while inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, and allergies will see double-digit growth for at least the next five years.