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PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Rare Cancers: Drugs (16 March 2015)

Question Asked

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure that there is adequate future funding of drugs for people with rare and less common cancers.

Asked by:
Sir Nicholas Dakin (Labour)

Answer

Better access to the very latest clinically effective medicines for rarer cancers is a priority, which is why we announced a £160 million boost to the Cancer Drugs Fund at the end of August 2014.

On 12 January 2015, NHS England announced that it plans to increase the level of investment for drugs in the Fund from £280 million in 2014-15 to an expected £340 million in 2015-16.

Since October 2010, the Fund has helped over 60,000 people with cancer to get life-extending drugs that would not otherwise have been available to them.

Under its terms of reference, published on 11 March 2015, the innovative medicines and medical technology review will consider the long term landscape for innovation adoption and how the Cancer Drugs Fund might fit into an integrated specialist commissioning system over the longer term.


Answered by:
George Freeman (Conservative)
19 March 2015

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