NICE Takes Over UK’s Cancer Drugs Fund

After years of uncontrolled spending, the UK’s troubled Cancer Drugs Fund has presented the National Health Service with a restructuring plan to get back on track.

Under the new model, the CDF — which was created in 2011 as a temporary measure to give cancer patients access to drugs not approved by NHS — would transition to a managed access fund in July. It would be under the purview of the UK’s healthcare cost watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, with set criteria for newer drugs to enter and exit the system.

Starting April 1, the CDF will be closed off to all new drugs pending the July 1 conversion to the updated structure. Cancer drugs already cleared by the CDF will continue to receive funding while NICE reviews them and makes one of three recommendations for each: recommended for routine use, not recommended for routine use or recommended for use within the CDF.