UK NICE rejects Imbruvica (ibrutinib) for treating Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia- Janssen

The UK's NICE has turned down Imbruvica (ibrutinib), from Janssen, for treating people with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia, a slow growing form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. According to NICE's draft guidelines, it does not support the drug's use in those who have had at least one prior therapy, or as first-line treatment when chemo-immunotherapy is unsuitable. NICE added that there has been no cost-effectiveness evidence submitted for part of the patient population - those for whom chemotherapy is unsuitable - and there were uncertainties in the evidence presented for other subsets. NICE also pointed out that it was unlikely that further data will lead to a more favourable cost-effectiveness estimate for the drug, so it did not recommend the drug's inclusion in the Cancer Drugs Fund.