UK's Cancer Drugs Fund bringing benefits to patients

In 2016 the UK’s Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) was set up by the NHS England to give patients fast-access to cancer drugs not routinely available on the National Health Service (NHS). This reformed an existing temporary fund with the aim of further improving patient access, speeding up the approval process and delivering better value for money for the NHS.

The CDF involves managed access agreements between a drug company and NHS England where there is uncertainty about the product’s clinical effectiveness. This agreement requires more data is collected during the managed access period in order to resolve remaining questions around the medicine’s efficacy. The additional data gathered helps NICE to decide if the drugs should be routinely available on the NHS.

GlobalData pharmaceutical technology reporter Allie Nawrat asked NHS England head of commercial operations and CDF national operational lead Nina Pinwill about the benefits this new process had produced.