SAN FRANCISCO – It has been exactly one year since Abbott spun out its research-based pharmaceuticals business into Abbvie Inc., an independent, publicly traded company. Since that time the company has been a favorite with investors. Will the company be able to repeat that performance going forward?

In his presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the company’s chief financial officer, Bill Chase, said he was confident that the company could continue its momentum on the strength of impressive sales growth of flagship product Humira (adalimumab), which had delivered, up to the third quarter of 2013, almost 20 percent global sales growth in 2013 (the company’s year-end financials are due to be reported at the end of this month) and an excellent product pipeline – with many in late stages of development.

Chase said it will also be a year of transition for the company as Abbvie absorbs the impact of the loss of exclusivity and concomitant revenues of blockbuster cholesterol drugs TriCor (fenofibrate) and Trilipix (fenofibric acid).

That is why during 2014 it will be incurring higher R&D expenses as a result of investing in several late-stage products being readied for the registration phase, as well as a higher level of selling, general and administrative expenses this year reflecting continued investment in growth brands and readying for the rollout of the firm’s interferon-free hepatitis C virus (HCV) program.

Abbvie’s Phase III activities, which includes six trials in more than 2,200 patients and trial sites in 30 countries, represents the largest interferon-free HCV registrational program conducted to date, Chase noted. That comprehensive program was designed to characterize the performance of a direct-acting antiviral combination regimen across genotype 1 populations and includes independent studies in difficult-to-treat patients.

Results are expected to support registration submissions in the second quarter of this year.

Chase also highlighted a number of other late-stage assets in the pipeline, including the Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-199, for which the firm initiated a large single-agent study in previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with the 17p deletion. Data from that study will likely read out at the end of 2014. ABT-199 is being developed in collaboration with Roche AG.

The company’s oncology pipeline includes multiple new molecules in clinical trials being studied in more than 15 different cancers and tumor types, Chase said.

Prior to their presentation, Abbvie execs announced the initiation of a pivotal Phase III study of veliparib (ABT-888), an oral poly (adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase inhibitor and a lead product from its oncology portfolio, for patients with early stage triple-negative breast cancer

The trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the compound when added to chemotherapy carboplatin. The three-arm trial will compare the addition of veliparib plus carboplatin or placebo plus carboplatin to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy. It will recruit approximately 620 patients who will be randomized to one of three arms of the trial. The primary efficacy outcome of the trial is pathological complete response, which is achieved when there is no evidence of residual, invasive cancer in the breast tissue and lymph node tissue, following treatment. The secondary outcome of the trial will determine the rate of eligibility for breast conservation after therapy. Other pre-specified outcome measures include event-free survival, overall survival and complete response rate. The safety of veliparib will also be evaluated in the trial.

Chase said the company views partnering as a very important factor in its research and development strategy, describing a number of strategic alliances that are yielding progress in potential drugs under joint development.

Overall, he said he believes that Abbvie will again have a strong year as it builds up for potential product launches next year. Investors are certainly supportive of the company’s achievements to date – since the company started trading Jan. 2, 2013, Abbvie’s share value (NYSE:ABBV) has increased by 51 percent. On Wednesday, the company’s shares closed at $50.11, down 49 cents.