UK Cancer Charities Call for Reform of NICE Appraisal Process

Sixteen major UK cancer charities have penned a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron calling for reforming the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s appraisal of cancer drugs.

The groups expressed concern over the Cancer Drugs Fund falling under NICE’s purview, which will ensure that only drugs recommended by the cost watchdog will be reimbursed by NHS England starting in July.

CDF was established as an emergency measure to bypass the NICE appraisal process, the charities say, describing the new process as having “outdated mechanisms” and “a last-century methodology” that would hinder the process of approving cancer drugs.