Cancer Medicines: Appraisals

Debate between Tracey Crouch and Will Quince

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Westminster Hall

[Will Quince]

The answer to both is yes, and yes. If the right hon. Lady would write to me with the details, I will certainly raise the issue and meet to discuss radioisotopes specifically.

NHS England is working very closely with the independent sector to ensure that we are using all the available capacity to us to deliver both diagnoses and treatment as quickly as possible. The Government announced the major conditions strategy on 24 January, which is important for cancer as it draws on previous work on cancer. Over 5,000 submissions were provided as part of our call for evidence last year, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders, the public and patients—whose voice should never be forgotten, as the hon. Member for Strangford rightly points out—and the NHS in the coming weeks to identify the actions we need to take as part of the strategy that will have the most impact.

Specifically on NICE appraisals, the hon. Member raised several concerns about the way in which cancer medicines are appraised. Members will know that NICE is rightly independent of Government. It is an expert body that makes evidence-based recommendations to the NHS on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS on the basis of on assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. Those recommendations then develop, mainly for the NHS in England, but as was mentioned, they are usually adopted by the NHS in Wales and in Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own system. This is a difficult matter to raise, but it is important to point out that every pound that we spend on a new medicine is money that is not available for other services, and the NICE appraisal process ensures that NHS funds are spent in a way that provides the greatest health benefit to society. That is a hugely difficult job, which NICE does with great professionalism.

Again, it is important to point out that NICE appraises all new medicines and that its approval rate for cancer medicines has consistently been around 90%–I think that the latest figure is 92%. It is absolutely right that when NICE recommends a medicine for the NHS, it is available for patients and NHS England is required to fund that drug or treatment. I know that the NHS in Northern Ireland and in Wales has adopted a similar model.

NICE’s methods and processes for assessing new medicines are internationally respected, and they have evolved over time to ensure that they reflect best practice and keep pace with advances in medical science. As my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) pointed out—I will come on to this in some detail— NICE concluded a comprehensive review of its appraisal methods and processes last year, which it carried out with a high level of ambition and transparency. As she pointed out, changes include the introduction of a new severity modifier, which will give NICE more flexibility to recommend medicines for more severe diseases at higher prices. The severity modifier replaces the previous flexibility for end-of-life treatments.

My hon. Friend raised some concerns about that, and I always listen very carefully to what she says on this and many other issues, especially given her personal experience and campaigning. She is right to say that the situation is hugely complex, and her point about data is a really good one, because decisions need to be informed by good-quality data. I would be happy to meet her to discuss how we can ensure that we are collecting data not just on a regional basis, but nationally, so that we can make sure that NICE is making informed decisions. As she rightly points out, we need to ensure that patients and their voices are always at the heart of all the decisions made by not just the Government, but NICE. I would be happy to meet her to discuss that in greater detail.

On the broader point about whether the introduction of a severity modifier in place of an end-of-life modifier will affect cancer drugs specifically, analysis was carried out by NICE in developing the modifier. It indicated that the vast majority of cancer medicines that would have been eligible for the end-of-life modifier would also be eligible for a weighting under the severity modifier. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend and any other Members who would like to meet NICE to discuss this issue further.

[Tracey Crouch]

I think it is very important that the Minister also meets the pharmaceutical companies, because there is a counterclaim to the statistic from NICE that he has just given. The pharmaceuticals say that, actually, a significant percentage—I cannot remember off the top of my head what it is—of drugs would not pass the test. My plea to him is to sit down with all interested parties and not just listen to NICE’s statistics on this issue.

[Will Quince]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I regularly meet the pharmaceutical industry, not least because of VPAS, which I will come on to discuss because it has been raised by a number of Members. While I understand the concern, it is absolutely right that assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness reflect up-to-date clinical pathways, evidence and evaluative methods and processes. However, my hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that we should also hear and understand the views and concerns of the pharmaceutical industry so that we have a rounded, balanced view and the full picture, to make sure that there are no unintended consequences because of the action that is being taken.

The hon. Member for Strangford mentioned non-uniform pricing and VPAS, so let me come on to that specifically. The tricky thing is that the negotiations for the next VPAS are currently under way. Given that there are ongoing discussions, it would not be appropriate for me to go into too much detail, because of the commercial sensitivity. It would also be inappropriate to set up a working group to review NHS England’s policy on non-uniform pricing. What I would say is that if changes were made to the wording in the next VPAS on commercial flexibilities, they would be reflected in an updated commercial framework for new medicines.

The hon. Members for Strangford and for Denton and Reddish raised clinical trials. We are doing a huge amount of work in that space because I recognise some of the issues and challenges that the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish set out. That is why we commissioned the O’Shaughnessy review into clinical trials, and why we accepted Lord O’Shaughnessy’s recommendations in full. We should take a step back for one moment and look at the work that we did as a country and an industry on clinical trials, particularly relating to covid. We basically shut down huge numbers of clinical trials to focus on a vaccine. To be fair, this country absolutely led the way in that, and we should be very proud of what we did, but we have not been fast enough in switching clinical trials back on and we have lost some of our competitive edge in relation to other countries, as the hon. Gentleman pointed out. The reality is that it is a race; clinical trials are globally competitive, and other countries, including Spain, have seized the advantage and are fighting hard for market share. We have to make sure we are a competitive place. That is about clinical trials but also our regulatory environment.

The hon. Member for Midlothian (Owen Thompson) made good points about the MHRA. We are absolutely looking at its processes and procedures, and we are putting an extra £10 million into it over the next two years to ensure it is a world-class regulator that is one of the fastest and most effective and efficient. It is already highly respected, but we must ensure that it does things at the right speed. That is very much on my radar, and as I said we are accepting the recommendations.

The hon. Member for Denton and Reddish also raised the cancer drugs fund. Since 2016, NICE has been able to recommend medicines for use through the Government’s £340 million cancer drugs fund, which enables patients to receive promising new treatments for a time-limited, managed access period while further evidence is being collected. That is then considered by NICE when determining whether a medicine should be routinely funded by the NHS. Since that fund was created in 2016, it has helped more than 91,000 patients in England, and more in other places, to access innovative medicines.