Cancer patients missing out on new drugs
UK newspaper The Guardian has reported on a new report by the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), which found that cancer patients are missing out on innovative new drugs due to red tape surrounding clinical trials and licensing, along with other factors.
UK newspaper The Guardian has reported on a new report by the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), which found that cancer patients are missing out on innovative new drugs due to red tape surrounding clinical trials and licensing, along with other factors.
According to the report, in recent years, there has been an increase in new drugs for blood cancers and lung cancer while some other cancers have had no new drugs licensed since 2000. The report found that, between 2009 and 2016, it took more than 14 years on average for a new drug to go from being patented to being used by the NHS, up from 12.7 years in the early years of the millennium. “Rather than getting quicker to get these drugs reaching patients, it is actually getting slower,” said Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of the ICR.
The report also found that there has been a rise in new drugs becoming available, with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) having authorised 7.5 new uses of drugs per year on average and 14.6 per year from 2009 to 2016. “There is some good news: the breakthroughs in our understanding of genetics and biology, which have been incredible over the last two decades, are leading to more cancer drugs than ever before being licensed,” Professor Workman said.
However, while 97 drugs have been licensed for 177 uses, they are clustered in particular forms of cancer. For example, 64 drugs have been authorised for blood cancers since 2000, while only one has been authorised for tackling liver cancer, despite the fact that it is on the rise. Of the 97 drugs, only eight were licensed for paediatric use and none for brain tumours. “Firstly, not enough drugs are being developed specifically for children, and secondly, not enough adult cancer drugs are being assessed for children when they could be relevant for childhood cancers,” said Dr Sally George of the ICR.