An important week for the future of the Cancer Drugs Fund has begun as NHS England starts its re-evaluation of 25 treatments currently on the list and reviews the merits of another ten.

A number of treatments face being de-listed from the Fund, having been picked for re-evaluation because of their high price. The list includes drugs for breast (six meds) and colorectal (six) cancers, plus six for lymphoma and four for myeloma.

The national CDF panel, which is meeting today and tomorrow (December 16) is also looking at new treatments, notably Pharmacyclics and Johnson & Johnson’s leukaemia and lymphoma drug Imbruvica (ibrutinib), Gilead Sciences’ leukaemia therapy Zydelig (idelalisib) and AstraZeneca’s Lynparza (olaparib) as maintenance treatment for advanced ovarian cancer.

Companies and patient groups are waiting with bated breath to see which treatments make the cut. It comes at a time when the very existence of such a fund is being called into question.

For more details, go to: http://www.pharmatimes.com/Article/14-12-15/Cancer_Drugs_Fund_costly_mistake_as_re-evaluation_begins.aspx