AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Pharmacyclics, Inc. enhancing AbbVie’s scientific and commercial presence in oncology. Pharmacyclics is a leader in the hematological oncology market with Imbruvica@ (ibrutinib), a first-in-class BTK-inhibitor used to treat hematological cancers, a $24 billion global market.
“The companies’ shared expertise, combined with AbbVie’s broad late-stage oncology pipeline, has the potential to transform the cancer treatment landscape for hematological malignancies and improve patient outcomes and quality of life,” said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer, AbbVie. “Today marks a significant step forward in our effort to become a leader in oncology and meaningfully augment our long-term growth strategy. The Pharmacyclics team has built an important and rapidly growing franchise with significant long-term potential across a range of hematological cancers.”
Imbruvica is approved for use in four indications in the U.S. and is the only product to have received three Breakthrough Therapy designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As part of a worldwide partnership with Janssen Biotech, Inc., Imbruvica is now approved in nearly 50 countries. Imbruvica is in mid- and late-stage development for additional hematological oncology indications, with more than 60 clinical trials underway, including 13 in Phase 3 development. Imbruvica is also in early-stage development for solid tumors. AbbVie will market Imbruvica in the United States.
Across its oncology pipeline, AbbVie has five late-stage assets in clinical development positioned to launch within the next several years. Two programs, venetoclax, a Bcl-2 inhibitor, and duvelisib, a dual PI3 kinase inhibitor, are in development for hematological cancers. AbbVie intends to explore these assets in combination with Imbruvica to evaluate the potential for meaningful improvement beyond the current standard of care.
Pharmacyclics will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of AbbVie and will operate from its previous Sunnyvale, Calif. headquarters. Wulff-Erik von Borcke, a longtime industry leader and former head of AbbVie’s global marketing, will lead Pharmacyclics as president.
Combined with its existing facilities in Redwood City, Calif., AbbVie now employs more than 900 employees in California.
