UK Imbruvica restrictions lifted after Times investigation

An investigation by The Times of London has led to the UK's National Health Service (NHS) scrapping its restrictions on the use of Imbruvica (ibrutinib).

Published in May, the Times' investigation accused the NHS of abrogating its responsibility to make Imbruvica available to all patients due to cost-cutting concerns despite the drug having been approved by the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE), the cost watchdog for England and Wales.

NICE's recommendation meant that patients had a legal right to the treatment, but officials prohibited use of the treatment for patients whose chronic lymphotic leukemia (CLL) had been out of remission for under three years, effectively forcing patients for whom chemotherapy was already known to be ineffective to suffer through further sessions.