Closing the Gaps to Timely Patient Access: Perspectives on Conditional Funding Models

Area of Science:

• Health policy
• Pharmaceutical access
• Health technology assessment

Background:

• The Canadian drug approval process involves multiple complex steps, including Health Canada licensing, health technology assessments (HTA) by CADTH and INESSS, and pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) negotiations.
• Significant delays, particularly post-HTA, can impede or deny patient access to new cancer drugs, leading to potentially severe clinical outcomes.
• Conditional funding models are utilized internationally to facilitate earlier access to medications for unmet medical needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss stakeholder perspectives on conditional funding agreements for new cancer drugs in Canada.
• To explore the potential of conditional funding to mitigate delays in the Canadian drug approval and reimbursement pathway.

Main Methods:

• The manuscript is based on a panel discussion from the 2021 Canadian Association of Population Therapeutics (CAPT) Conference.
• It synthesizes various stakeholder viewpoints on conditional funding mechanisms.
• A successful UK conditional funding example is presented for context.

Main Results:

• Stakeholder perspectives on conditional funding agreements are presented.
• The potential benefits and challenges of implementing such models in Canada are discussed.
• An international case study illustrates the practical application of conditional funding.

Conclusions:

• Conditional funding models offer a potential solution to lengthy post-HTA delays in Canada.
• These agreements can improve timely patient access to innovative cancer therapies.
• Further exploration and discussion of conditional funding are warranted within the Canadian healthcare context.