AbbVie is swinging for the fences with a new partnership in support of cancer awareness and research.
The pharma has teamed up with Major League Baseball as the league’s official pharmaceutical partner, AbbVie announced Tuesday, on the eve of the MLB’s regular season kickoff.
The partnership is the first of its kind for AbbVie and will expand nationwide an initiative that the Illinois drugmaker started in its hometown last year.
“Striking Out Cancer” began last summer as a collaboration with the Chicago Cubs pro baseball team, with AbbVie pledging to donate $233 to cancer-focused charitable organizations for every strikeout by a Cubs pitcher at a home game during the 2025 regular season.
In the new league-wide iteration of “Striking Out Cancer,” AbbVie plans to donate $20 per strikeout at any MLB game throughout the 2026 season to Stand Up to Cancer, a nonprofit aimed at boosting cancer research and awareness.
The $20 figure represents the World Health Organization’s finding that about 20% of the global population will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 75. Similarly, last year’s $233 number symbolized the American Cancer Society’s estimate that 233 Americans are diagnosed with cancer every hour.
The company has pledged to donate up to $1 million per season through the initiative. AbbVie noted that an average of 40,000 strikeouts occur each MLB season, which would generate $800,000; the newly expanded “Striking Out Cancer” initiative also includes additional contributions for perfect games and no-hitters, plus “donation enhancements” tied to certain MLB events, per AbbVie.
Elsewhere, the campaign will be featured on the MLB’s TV, digital and social channels and during annual events like the All-Star Game, the “MLB at Field of Dreams” specialty game and the Wild Card Series, the last of which will have AbbVie as presenting sponsor.
“Cancer impacts millions of families, and partnerships like this allow us to meet people where they are and spark meaningful conversations around awareness and action,” Tracie Haas, senior VP of corporate affairs at AbbVie, said in Tuesday’s announcement. “By expanding Striking Out Cancer across Major League Baseball, we can elevate awareness and reinforce our commitment to helping make a real difference for patients, their families and communities.”