Skip to main content

Research and discovery efforts battling COVID-19 and beyond

With extensive expertise in virology, small molecule and antibody therapeutics,
AbbVie scientists bring decades of experience to the fight. 

"The world has never seen a crisis of this magnitude and people are depending on science to answer the call. AbbVie’s scientists understand the stakes and are using our decades of expertise to help." 
Tom Hudson, M.D., senior vice president, R&D, chief scientific officer, AbbVie

Leveraging our expertise

AbbVie’s scientific expertise has been a significant asset to our efforts in helping fight COVID-19. Our R&D team has reviewed our compounds, existing medicines and pipeline assets to evaluate their efficacy as potential treatments while simultaneously building and accelerating discovery efforts.

And we’re working with global health authorities, government health officials, universities and other biopharmaceutical companies to help address the medical impacts of the pandemic.

ACTIV partnership

AbbVie is participating in the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) partnership led by the National Institutes of Health and the Foundation for the NIH (FNIH). The partnership brings together more than a dozen leading biopharmaceutical companies, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to develop an international strategy for a coordinated research response to the COVID-19 pandemic. AbbVie assets are being studied as part of the ACTIV-5 Big Effect Trial and ACTIV-1 Immune Modulators trial. Learn more.

COVID R&D Alliance

AbbVie is proud to be part of the COVID R&D Alliance, joining forces with others in the industry to help in the fight against COVID-19. Together we are working to identify, study, and accelerate the most promising therapeutic drug candidates.

Antibody research

AbbVie is working with Harbour BioMed, Utrecht University, and Erasmus Medical Center to develop a novel antibody therapeutics to prevent and treat COVID-19. The focus of the collaboration is on advancing the fully human, neutralizing antibody 47D11, which targets the conserved domain of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Learn more.

 

Ibrutinib research

AbbVie has initiated a Phase 2 study of ibrutinib in patients with COVID-19 infection. The goal of this study is to determine whether ibrutinib can improve patient outcomes by diminishing the immune response known as the cytokine storm that contributes to the morbidity and mortality in COVID-19.

CARE Consortium

Along with industry partners, AbbVie has joined the Innovative Medicines Initiative’s Corona Accelerated R&D in Europe (CARE) consortium to support research and discovery of targeted medicines against COVID-19. Through our internal research and collaborations with external institutions and academia, we are focused on developing broadly neutralizing anti-COVID-19 antibodies and small molecule antivirals, which we will bring into clinical trials as quickly as possible. Learn more.

Harvard University partnership

AbbVie and Harvard University are launching a $30 million research alliance to study and develop novel therapies against emergent viral infections. The specific focus of the collaboration will be on infections caused by coronaviruses and by viruses that lead to hemorrhagic fever. Together, AbbVie and Harvard Medical School aim to rapidly integrate fundamental biology into the preclinical and clinical development of new therapies for viral diseases that address a variety of therapeutic modalities. Learn more.

Related Stories

Partnerships during a pandemic: 3 reasons why they’re critical

Global partnerships help give scientists an edge against tough diseases and viruses, from COVID-19 to autoimmune disorders.

Read more

Helping solve for the next COVID

Working to treat diseases that don’t even exist yet.

Read more

How AbbVie is bringing antiviral expertise to the COVID-19 battle

At the first sign of the pandemic, AbbVie began evaluating ways to help, including accelerating discovery efforts and external collaborations.

Read more