AbbVie has a lot on its plate with a megamerger with Allergan in the works and the rollout of blockbuster hopeful Rinvoq. One thing it hasn't had to worry about much is its blood cancer franchise––and, despite a rising challenger in AstraZeneca's Calquence, AbbVie still isn't concerned.

The company's big-selling Imbruvica, jointly marketed with Johnson & Johnson, and newer Venclexta together nabbed global sales of $1.48 billion in the third quarter. Imbruvica gobbled up the majority of that pie with $1.04 billion in U.S. sales and $225 million in overseas profit-sharing––an impressive 29.3% increase from the same quarter in 2018. 

That's all great news for AbbVie, which is facing declining sales of megablockbuster Humira abroad and U.S. biosimilars in the not-too-distant future. However, AZ's Calquence is coming hard after Imbruvica in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) indications––if not yet sales––and analysts appeared a little spooked during an earnings call with AbbVie execs Friday. 

As CEO Rick Gonzalez sees it, AbbVie is in a strong position to compete, what with Imbruvica well-established in CLL and next-gen Venclexta already approved to treat new and previously treated patients in that indication. 

"I don’t see physicians taking well-treated patients on Imbruvica and switching them to Calquence or whatever else," he said on the call. "In the case of new patients and failure patients, they’ll have to compete with Venclexta in this market. I feel highly confident in our position in this marketplace based on our performance and the assets that we have."

Calquence hit just $44 million in sales in the third quarter, boosting sales for its first full year on the market to $108 million. 

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In May, a combination of Venclexta and Roche's Gazyva notched a speedy FDA approval for previously untreated CLL patients, giving the next-gen med a leg up in getting to those patients first. 

Almost immediately after that, though, a Calquence-Gazvya combo was hot on Venclexta's heels with June data showing the pair beat out a regimen of chlorambucil chemotherapy and Gazyva at staving off disease progression in previously untreated CLL patients.

Calquence followed that study up with survival data released later that month showing the drug reduced the risk of CLL progression or death by 69% compared with standard-of-care regimens of Roche's Rituxan combined with chemo drug bendamustine or Gilead's Zydelig. At 12 months, Calquence had stopped CLL progression in 88% of patients, compared with just 68% of those in the control arm. 

So far, Calquence sniffing around hasn't dipped into Imbruvica's sales, which is a good thing, because AbbVie will need some help fending off biosimilar competition to Humira abroad. 

Humira posted a 33.5% slip in overseas sales in the third quarter to $1.05 billion. That's a steep decline, but it's actually less of a hit than AbbVie had expected. The company said the market-share erosion abroad was around 28% since biosims launched earlier this year, slightly under the 30% it previously forecasted. 

It helped, of course, that Humira's U.S. sales were actually up 9.6% to $3.9 billion. 

RELATED: AbbVie eyes 2nd Rinvoq nod as it hits its marks in psoriatic arthritis

The drugmaker will also happily lean on growing uptake for its rheumatoid arthritis (RA) blockbuster hopeful Rinvoq, which is well on its way to a second indication in psoriatic arthritis thanks to phase 3 data released Thursday. 

Gonzalez said 6% of "in-play" RA patients in the U.S. were already on Rinvoq just weeks into its launch, with the drug hitting $14 million since its approval in mid-August. The drug is also expecting a phase 3 readout in atopic dermatitis in 2020.

"While we’re still early in the launch, we’re certainly pleased by feedback we’ve received in the field," Gonzalez said.

AbbVie can also take hope in the launch of psoriasis med Skyrizi, which nabbed $91 million worldwide in the third quarter. In the second quarter––its first on the market–– Skyrizi sales hit $48 million. 

With its pharma sales up just 3% on the whole––thanks mostly to Humira's decline––AbbVie is waiting in anticipation for its massive Allergan merger to come through and provide a bit of sales pickup. 

AbbVie execs were mum on the call about the current state of the merger, saying they were honoring the Federal Trade Commission's "second request" for information on the deal. Gonzalez said AbbVie still plans to close the deal in the first quarter of 2020 and was looking expectantly to Allergan's products, specifically blockbuster Botox, which he said "continues to perform very well."