Acalabrutinib is a targeted medicine taken by mouth for certain blood cancers that start in B lymphocytes — chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) that has come back or not responded to earlier treatment. It may be given on its own or with an anti-CD20 antibody such as obinutuzumab.
It is a 'BTK inhibitor': it blocks an enzyme the cancerous B cells depend on to survive and multiply. Compared with the first drug of this kind, ibrutinib, it is more selective, which for many people means fewer heart-rhythm and bleeding side effects — although those risks still exist and are monitored.
Acalabrutinib is taken twice a day, about 12 hours apart, continuously for as long as it is working and tolerated. Your haematologist sets the dose. It is a prescription-only medicine; a valid prescription must be provided at checkout.