Onkológia 1/2014

Cancer Drugs Fund – starting point or final solution to pay for innovative oncology treatment?

The Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) is a UK government initiative to increase access to cancer drugs which are not routinely available through the National Health Service (NHS). There was an evidence that UK lags behind the rest of Europe in access to new cancer drugs. The CDF funding system was planned for a period of three years, from April 2011 to March 2014 in England with allocated fixed funds of £200 million per annum. There are 2 methods of reimbursement for cancer drugs through the CDF. When the product/indication is included in the national list of CDF, reimbursement approval is based on a notification and confirmation of the requests. If the product or indication is not listed, it is possible to apply for reimbursement on individual basis. In September 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron announced extension of CDF until 2016 with a total budget of £ 400 million. It is still unclear how the new way of assessing drugs, called value-based pricing, which the Department of Health planned to implement by 2014, will work in reality, and whether it will ultimately deliver the benefits it proposes.

Keywords: cancer drugs, reimbursement, value-based pricing.