AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, has completed the acquisition of Pharmacyclics, Inc. enhancing AbbVie's scientific and commercial presence in oncology. Pharmacyclics is a leader in the haematological oncology market with Imbruvica (ibrutinib), a first-in-class BTK-inhibitor used to treat haematological 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 haematological 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 haematological cancers."
Imbruvica is approved for use in four indications in the US and is the only product to have received three Breakthrough Therapy designations by the US 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 haematological oncology indications, with more than 60 clinical trials underway, including 13 in phase 3 development. Imbruvica is also in early-stage development for solid tumours. 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 programmes, venetoclax, a Bcl-2 inhibitor, and duvelisib, a dual PI3 kinase inhibitor, are in development for haematological 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, California 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, California, AbbVie now employs more than 900 employees in California.
Pharmacyclics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative small -molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer and immune mediated diseases. The company's mission is to build a viable biopharmaceutical company that designs, develops and commercializes novel therapies intended to improve quality of life, increase duration of life and resolve serious unmet medical needs.