Abbvie to acquire Waltham cancer firm and its drug for $10B

Photo | Grant Welker AbbVie's Worcester facility

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By Isabel Tehan

Chicago-based biotech giant AbbVie, which has a large bioresearch facility in Worcester, will acquire Waltham’s ImmunoGen and its flagship ovarian cancer treatment drug in an more than $10-billion transaction.

Under the terms of the acquisition, AbbVie will purchase all outstanding ImmunoGen shares, valued at $31.26 per share, estimating ImmunoGen’s total equity value at approximately $10.1 billion, according to a Thursday press release from both companies.

AbbVie’s stock value ticked up a dollar on Thursday morning, from $138.00 to $139.10 per share on the New York Stock Exchange. The deal is expected to positively impact shareholder value in early 2027, according to the press release.

ImmunoGen’s antibody treatment for resistant ovarian cancer will expand AbbVie’s portfolio of ovarian cancer treatments and accelerate its entry to the commercial market.

"The acquisition of ImmunoGen demonstrates our commitment to deliver on our long-term growth strategy and enables AbbVie to further diversify our oncology pipeline across solid tumors and hematologic malignancies," AbbVie Chairman and CEO Richard Gonzalez said in the press release. "Together, AbbVie and ImmunoGen have the potential to transform the standard of care for people living with cancer."

The ImmunoGen flagship drug ELAHERE is a targeted medicine and the first of its kind to show treatment benefit for particular gynecological cancers, according to the press release.