The licensing of the most innovative cancer treatments is taking longer than necessary, depriving many patients of potential care, a British expert alleges today.
The report is released today (29 January) by The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. It examines the time taken to pass through clinical trials, licensing and appraisal for availability on the NHS, for innovative versus more conventional cancer treatments.
Study leader Professor Paul Workman and his team found that the higher the level of innovation of a cancer drug, the longer this process takes. The researchers analysed the reasons why the system of drug discovery and development appears to be risk averse to innovative drugs, which ”play an essential role in tackling cancer evolution and drug resistance – the biggest challenge in cancer research and treatment today”.
The study, published in the journal Drug Discovery Today, looked at access to all drugs licensed through the European Medicines Agency from 2000 to 2016.
They found that the drugs they categorised as “most innovative” took 3.2 years longer from filing of the patent to availability on the NHS than others.
This “suggests that various initiatives intended to prioritise the most innovative drugs had yet to be effective."
One drug, mifamurtide, took 20 years to receive NHS approval for osteosarcoma treatment after patenting.
Professor Workman found that the average time for a drug to reach the NHS after patenting has increased this century – from 12.8 years at the beginning of the century to 14 years now.
Professor Workman said: “At the moment the whole ecosystem for drug discovery and development – involving regulators, researchers and companies – is too risk averse.
“It’s crucial that academic researchers and pharmaceutical companies should feel that the regulatory systems for drug development support risk taking and innovation, rather than discouraging it and slowing it down.”
Drug Discovery Today 29 January 2020
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