Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on patients of the pause in listing new drugs accessible through the Cancer Drugs Fund introduced in June 2015.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
We have made no such assessment.
As part of its work to reprioritise the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) in 2015-16, NHS England took the decision not to consider new drugs for inclusion on the national CDF list.
NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently consulted on draft proposals for the future direction of the Fund. The consultation outlined a new system, fully integrated into the NICE appraisal process, where the CDF becomes a transitional fund – with clear criteria for entry and exit.
Clinicians continue to be able to apply for cancer drugs not on the national CDF list through the Individual Cancer Drugs Funding Request procedure.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they are reviewing the Cancer Drugs Fund list, given the January review; and whether any assessment has been made of the impact on patients of the frequency with which medicines on the Cancer Drugs Fund list are reviewed.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The criteria and scoring system for reviewing the current listed drugs within the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) is outlined in the published CDF Standard Operating Procedure which is available at: www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/. These state that:
“Decisions will be based on the National Cancer Drugs Fund Prioritisation Tool in conjunction with an assessment of median drug cost per patient. This evaluation will be completed for each drug/indication under consideration and will result in an overall score based on a number of factors, including:
o evidence of clinical benefit e.g. progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS)
o quality of life (QOL)
o toxicity
o unmet need
o median drug cost per patient
Drugs on the National CDF List will be subject to an affordability test within the overall CDF budget, being added or removed according to their relative aggregate score using the National Cancer Drugs Fund Prioritisation Tool of clinical benefit in conjunction with the assessment of drug cost per patient. Drugs whose aggregate score is below the threshold applicable at the time will not be added/will be removed from the National CDF List.”
A copy is attached.
NHS England has advised that the Fund is re-prioritised on a regular basis so that the resources available are used to the best benefit of patients.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria will be applied to select products for possible delisting from the Cancer Drugs Fund in July; and in particular what is the scoring system that will be used.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The criteria and scoring system for reviewing the current listed drugs within the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) is outlined in the published CDF Standard Operating Procedure which is available at: www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/. These state that:
“Decisions will be based on the National Cancer Drugs Fund Prioritisation Tool in conjunction with an assessment of median drug cost per patient. This evaluation will be completed for each drug/indication under consideration and will result in an overall score based on a number of factors, including:
o evidence of clinical benefit e.g. progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS)
o quality of life (QOL)
o toxicity
o unmet need
o median drug cost per patient
Drugs on the National CDF List will be subject to an affordability test within the overall CDF budget, being added or removed according to their relative aggregate score using the National Cancer Drugs Fund Prioritisation Tool of clinical benefit in conjunction with the assessment of drug cost per patient. Drugs whose aggregate score is below the threshold applicable at the time will not be added/will be removed from the National CDF List.”
A copy is attached.
NHS England has advised that the Fund is re-prioritised on a regular basis so that the resources available are used to the best benefit of patients.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Cancer Drugs Fund has overspent, in the light of the second review to remove treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund list.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England has advised that the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) overspent by £135.7 million (against a budget of £280 million) in 2014-15.
Reprioritisation of the national CDF list is necessary within 2015-16 to remain within the fixed budget allocated to the Fund, as stated within the CDF Standard Operating Procedures.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place, if any, with NHS England about (1) the levels of unmet need in rare cancers, and (2) incremental innovation in rare cancers' treatment, during the process of assessing medicines for inclusion on the Cancer Drugs Fund.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England has advised that the current scoring system within the Cancer Drugs Fund makes provision for rarer cancers and unmet need where there is no recognised treatment available for a specific cancer. The clinical impact of innovation is considered by the clinical panel as part of the prioritisation process.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long the revised Cancer Drugs Fund list will be available for patients and clinicians to access.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government is committed to continuing to invest in the Cancer Drugs Fund.