New investment for Cancer Drugs Fund announced

A new funding increase for the Cancer Drugs Fund will see thousands more cancer patients in England receiving access to treatment.

The fresh 160 million pound injection from the Department of Health will ensure that more than 280 million pounds a year will be spent on providing cancer drugs to patients in need – up from the current 200 million pound annual spend.

More than 55,000 cancer patients have benefited from the fund since it was set up four years ago. In addition to this new funding increase, two additional drugs have been added to the programme – the prostate cancer therapy Xtandi and the myelodysplastic syndrome treatment Revlimid.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We need to continue to focus our efforts on increasing access to these innovative treatments, while ensuring that all patients continue to receive the effective drugs which are right for them."

The scheme is scheduled to run until the end of March 2016.