Janssen has received final European sign-off for its oncology treatment Imbruvica (ibrutinib) as a treatment option for adult patients with a rare blood cancer.

The European Commission (EC) approved Imbruvica (ibrutinib) for Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM). It is available for people with WM who have received at least one prior therapy, or in first line treatment for patients unsuitable for chemo-immunotherapy.

WM is a slow growing non-Hodgkin lymphoma which develops when plasma cells grow out of control. In the UK, over 400 patients each year are diagnosed with the disease, which is most prevalent in men over 65 years of age, accounting for approximately 2% of all B-cell lymphomas diagnosed in the UK each year.

The treatment is the first EC-approved treatment for B cell lymphoma, will be available to patients unsuitable for chemo-immunotherapy.

For more details, go to: http://www.pharmafile.com/news/497680/european-imbruvica-approval-janssen