AbbVie’s Shire Push Won’t Face Pfizer Hurdles in Takeover

Shire Plc became a hot property in health care by buying promising drugs, not developing them in-house. That may help AbbVie Inc. avoid the political hurdles that hurt Pfizer Inc.’s bid for AstraZeneca Plc.

U.S. drugmakers AbbVie and Pfizer planned to use their proposed acquisitions to redomicile in a country with lower taxes. Pfizer’s $117 billion bid was criticized as a potential job killer that would hinder the U.K.’s reputation as a science center. AbbVie’s push for Shire, which has already rejected a $46.5 billion offer, shouldn’t face the same attacks.