Bru-te force

AbbVie Inc.'s failed attempt to buy Shire plc last year was based on the expected savings from tax inversion and the opportunity to diversify its pipeline. This time around, the pharma's purchase of Pharmacyclics Inc. is treading more familiar territory: augmenting its hematologic oncology pipeline with a marketed drug with enormous potential and a sales team to support it.

If successful, AbbVie will create the same kind of franchise with Imbruvica ibrutinib that it created in autoimmune disease with Humira adalimumab...