Vol. 1 No. 12 (2021)
Reimbursement Recommendations

Zanubrutinib (Brukinsa)

Published December 17, 2021

Key Messages

  • CADTH recommends that Brukinsa be reimbursed by public drug plans for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), if certain conditions are met.
  • Brukinsa should only be covered to treat patients with relapsed or refractory WM who have received at least 1 prior line of therapy, meet at least 1 criterion for treatment according to International Workshop on WM (IWWM) consensus panel criteria, and have good performance status. Patients eligible for reimbursement of Brukinsa should not have disease transformation, which is WM that has transformed into another type of cancer, or received prior treatment with a drug of the same class (i.e., a Bruton tyrosine kinase [BTK] inhibitor) unless such therapy was stopped because the drug was not tolerated and the disease had not progressed.
  • Brukinsa should only be reimbursed if prescribed by a clinician with expertise and experience in the treatment of WM and monitoring of therapy and if it does not cost more than other treatments for WM.