The Cancer Drugs Fund in Practice and Under the New Framework

Area of Science:

• Health economics and outcomes research
• Oncology drug access and reimbursement
• Health technology assessment

Background:

• The Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) was established in 2010 to enhance patient access to novel cancer treatments.
• Stricter budgeting rules were implemented in 2016, requiring treatments to demonstrate cost-effectiveness potential based on collected data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the process and criteria for evaluating cancer treatments under the revised CDF framework.
• To assess the extent of data collection for treatments included in the CDF.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of CDF list, UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and Scottish Medicines Consortium documents (dated May 10, 2018).
• Data collection focused on drug indications, reasons for CDF inclusion, data collection methods, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs), and Scottish recommendations.

Main Results:

• Twelve drugs were approved for 17 indications, with 12 for end-of-life care. Common cancers included non-small-cell lung, urothelial, lymphocytic leukaemia, and multiple myeloma.
• Companies' ICERs were typically lower than those from committees and evidence review groups.
• Drugs were listed on the CDF for 6-42 months (majority ≥18 months), with overall survival data frequently collected.

Conclusions:

• Data collection for overall survival often surpassed the recommended two years, indicating extended patient access to potentially beneficial drugs.
• The CDF appears to facilitate early patient access to cancer drugs, potentially bridging the gap before routine availability.
• Study limitations include reliance on published data and a small dataset.