NEW YORK, Jan 2, 2026, 14:08 ET — Regular session
- AbbVie shares rose slightly in afternoon trade as investors digested new guidance tied to constipation drug Linzess.
- Ironwood forecast higher 2026 Linzess U.S. net sales and said the drug’s list price was lowered effective Jan. 1.
- Traders were also watching a muted start to 2026 on Wall Street and next week’s U.S. labor data for clues on rate-cut expectations.
AbbVie shares ticked higher on Friday after Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, its partner on constipation drug Linzess, raised its 2026 outlook and said it lowered the medicine’s list price at the start of the year.
The update matters because Linzess is co-developed and co-commercialized with AbbVie in the U.S., and changes in pricing can shift how much revenue is left after rebates and discounts.
It also lands as investors reopen the books for 2026 with drug pricing back on the agenda and macro data next week expected to reset interest-rate bets, a key driver for defensive sectors such as healthcare.
AbbVie was up 0.2% at $228.95 in New York afternoon trade. Ironwood surged 29.5%.
Ironwood said it expects 2026 Linzess U.S. net sales of $1.125 billion to $1.175 billion, versus its 2025 guidance of $860 million to $890 million, and attributed the year-on-year lift to improved net pricing after a list-price reduction that took effect Jan. 1. “Effective January 1, 2026, the LINZESS list price has been lowered … to support ongoing patient access,” Chief Executive Tom McCourt said. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals
List price is the published “sticker price,” while net sales reflect what a company keeps after rebates and other discounts, which can be sizable in U.S. drug channels.
For AbbVie, the Linzess update is a smaller swing factor than its big immunology franchises, but it adds to a broader investor focus on mix, pricing and demand as the company leans on newer drugs to offset Humira’s erosion.
AbbVie last raised its quarterly dividend to $1.73 per share, with the first payment set for Feb. 17 to shareholders of record on Jan. 16, according to the company’s October earnings release.
Drug pricing pressure remained in the foreground after Reuters reported drugmakers planned price increases on at least 350 branded medicines for 2026 even as President Donald Trump has pressed companies for cuts.
The broader tape was choppy. U.S. stocks opened the first session of 2026 near flat, with investors looking ahead to next week’s labor market data as markets reassess the Federal Reserve’s path.
For AbbVie, the next near-term checkpoint is its quarterly results and any updated commentary on demand trends across immunology and aesthetics. Nasdaq’s earnings calendar currently estimates AbbVie will report around Jan. 30.
Investors will also watch whether pricing moves like the Linzess list-price cut spill over more broadly across branded drugs, and how payers and rebate dynamics shape the gap between list and net revenue in 2026.
