NICE draft guidance negative on Imbruvica for Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia

In draft guidance published today, the medicines cost effectiveness watchdog for England and Wales says that it does not recommend Imbruvica (ibrutinib) for treating some people with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia – a rare type of slow growing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Ibrutinib, from Janssen, a subsidiary of US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), is used to treat Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia in people who have had at least one prior therapy, or as first-line treatment when chemo-immunotherapy is unsuitable.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says it appraisal committee recognized that there was no cost-effectiveness evidence submitted for part of the patient population (those for whom chemo-immunotherapy is considered unsuitable). The committee also noted that there were uncertainties in the evidence presented for the other part of the patient population.