UPDATE 2-AbbVie lifts 2024 profit forecast, shares hit record high Adds information from investor call throughout, updates shares in paragraph 3 By Leroy Leo and Patrick Wingrove July 25 (Reuters) - AbbVie ABBV.N increased its profit forecast for 2024 on Thursday after reporting strong sales of immunology drugs and quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, sending its shares to a record high.

AbbVie lifts annual profit forecast on strong immunology drug sales July 25 (Reuters) - AbbVie ABBV.N raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday as strong sales of its key immunology drugs, including Humira, helped it beat Wall Street expectations for the second quarter. Sales of Humira, once the world's top-selling drug, have been declining since its close copies, or biosimilars, hit the U.S.

BRIEF-Cigna Group Declares Quarterly Dividend July 24 (Reuters) - Cigna Group CI.N : THE CIGNA GROUP DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND CIGNA GROUP - DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND OF $1.40 PER SHARE Source text for Eikon: ID:nPn2gnfkja Further company coverage: CI.N

UPDATE 1-US drug industry middlemen defend business model amid accusations of raising patient costs Recasts with details from hearing in paragraphs 1, 4-9, 10 By Amina Niasse and Bhanvi Satija July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. pharmaceutical industry middlemen defended their role in the healthcare system during a Congressional hearing on Tuesday after committee members accused them of pushing patients toward expensive treatments even when lower-cost options are available.

Drug middlemen push for pricier medicines, US House committee report finds July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. pharmacy benefit managers push patients towards more expensive treatments even when lower-cost options are available, according to a report by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The committee said it has found evidence that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) force drugmakers to pay rebates for placing their branded drugs in a favorable position on a formulary or the list of medicat