NHS England unveils new Innovative Medicines Fund

NHS England has revealed its new Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF), created in a bid to ensure patients have early access to ‘potentially life-saving’ new treatments.

The IMF will be used to fast-track promising new drugs to the patients who need them, building upon the reformed Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), which offers interim funding for promising cancer treatments while further data is collected.

Over the last five years, the CDF has opened access to potentially life-saving drugs for more than 64,000 people, where otherwise these treatments may not have become available for ‘many years’ via other pathways.

The new fund, however, will support patients with any condition, including those with rare and genetic diseases. This means patients with ‘less common diseases’ will be able to potentially access treatments where data collection on effectiveness can take longer to obtain, due to the smaller patient cohort.

Through the IMF, these patients will gain early access to the most clinically promising treatments when further data is needed to support the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) final recommendations.

It will operate in the same way as the CDF, giving NICE another option aside from making an immediate decision about routine availability on the NHS for new drugs.

“In the last year NHS England has successfully negotiated deals for a range of new treatments, including drugs which may allow toddlers with spinal muscular atrophy the chance to walk thanks to the ‘world’s most expensive drug’, as well as giving cystic fibrosis patients the latest medicines against their debilitating disease. This new fund will build on these successes, offering hope to even more patients,” said Simon Stevens, ex-chief executive of the NHS.

“The Innovative Medicines Fund is another example of the government delivering on its manifesto commitments, and it will significantly reduce the time it takes for the most promising new medicines to reach patients, including children and those with rare diseases, saving lives and giving many people hope for a healthier future,” said Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid.

“This vital new initiative extends the successful Cancer Drugs Fund model to other patients, bringing equal access to the best treatments for all, regardless of the condition,” he added.

In a statement, NHS England said the new initiative will have £340m in funding, matching the existing £340m allocated to the CDF. This means a total of £640m of ring-fenced funding will be available to enable fast access to innovative drugs.

In response to the new IMF, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s (ABPI) chief executive Richard Torbett commented: “This commitment from the government is another important step towards improving access to new medicines for NHS patients.”

“The fund can build on the success of the Cancer Drugs Fund and provide an opportunity for all patients to benefit early from the most promising treatments – including those for the rarest conditions. It also sends a signal to the global pharmaceutical industry that the UK is serious about using new health technologies, which in turn could help drive investment into UK life sciences,” he added.

The proposed IMF will be subject to a formal public consultation, involving patient groups, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders.