AbbVie has completed the acquisition of Pharmacyclics, a deal the Chicago-based US drugmaker says enhances its scientific and commercial presence in oncology. As a wholly owned Abbevie subsidiary, Pharmacyclics will continue to be based at Sunnyvale California.

The California firm is recognized as a leader in the hematological oncology market with its Imbruvica (ibrutinib) BTK-inhibitor used to treat hematological cancers.

Approved for use in four indications in the US, Imbruvic is claimed to be the only product to have received three Breakthrough Therapy designations by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In partnership with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen subsidiary Janssen Biotech the drug is now approved in nearly 50 countries.

"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, CEO of AbbVie, which will market the drug in the US.

In its oncology pipeline, AbbVie has five late-stage assets in clinical development planned to be launched 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.

The Chicago drugmaker said it intends to explore its pipeline assets in combination with Imbruvica to evaluate the potential for meaningful improvement beyond the current standard of care.