Paul Burstow, health minister, and Professor Mike Richards, right, after a briefing during the 2010 election campaign on the new Cancer Drugs Fund. It was scrapped last March Press AssociationThe Cancer Drugs Fund not only wasted public money but may have harmed patients, according to a review. The fund was scrapped last March after it was described as “no longer fit for purpose”, having repeatedly exceeded its £340 million annual budget. It also found evidence that many of the drugs were likely to have caused toxic side effects in some cancer patients. A pet project of David Cameron, then the prime minister, the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) was announced during the 2010 general election campaign, offering patients access to medicines rejected by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).…

Source: The Times April 28, 2017 00:33 UTC