My Lords, this debate has once again focused the Committee’s mind on the importance of innovation and the way in which it can have a transformative impact on patients’ lives.
As noble Lords have spoken of, the success of the Cancer Drugs Fund in providing interim funding means faster access to cancer drugs, saving valuable time—up to eight months in some cases—for patients accessing those drugs. Patients are now able to access cancer drugs that have received a draft NICE recommendation from the point of marketing authorisation. As noble Lords have noted, this provides the template for the innovative medicines fund.
The success over the lifetime of the Cancer Drugs Fund to date did not need legislation. It was a response to the immediate need to target access to cancer drugs. In expanding the fund to become the innovative medicines fund, I do not think legislation would advance the fund’s purpose, capacity or delivery in any material way. It will be a managed access scheme delivered by NHSEI and NICE to expand the range of medicines that could be supported by that funding.
I understand that my noble friend Lord O’Shaughnessy and other noble Lords would like this debate to cover an update on progress towards delivering that fund. I assure noble Lords that proposals for the innovative medicines fund are in development as we speak. We know that patients will be keen to understand the impact on them, as well as pharmaceutical companies and the NHS. It is our intention that NHSEI and NICE will lead an engagement exercise in the first quarter of 2021 to get the fund established.
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I am glad that the fund is a Cameron-Johnson initiative that the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, can support. She asked many good questions on the operation of the fund, many of which will be covered by the engagement exercise that NHSEI will carry out next year.
The noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler, asked a question on the operation of the fund. We expect it to mirror that of the CDF, with entry and exit points agreed by NICE. The noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, asked about the level of the fund. Again, that will be covered by the engagement exercise.
Noble Lords may ask why we have not made further progress since the manifesto commitment last year. Unfortunately, the impact of Covid-19 on business-as-usual activity has delayed a lot of what we would have liked to achieve this year. I am sure noble Lords will agree that, at a time when the pharmaceutical sector has been most concerned with ensuring the continued supply of medicines, and the NHS with the protection of patients, a delay to the formal establishment of the scheme is necessary, if not ideal.
I hope noble Lords are reassured on the timing of the engagement exercise—to be undertaken in the first quarter of next year, and I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Patel, feels able to withdraw the amendment.