New pan-Canadian review process for cancer drugs
July 13, 2011
A new collaborative group is leading the process for reviewing scientific evidence of new cancer drugs and making recommendations to provinces and territories that will help guide drug-funding decisions. The pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR) announced today it is accepting submissions for review from drug manufacturers and physician groups, otherwise known as “tumour groups.” This announcement marks the completion of the transition to pCODR from an interim cancer drug review process (iJODR) that has been in place for the last four years.
The purpose of pCODR is to provide consistent, evidence-based and comprehensive information to provinces and territories of the clinical evidence and cost effectiveness of cancer drugs so they can make informed funding decisions. The Partnership is a partner in pCODR and is involved in the following ways:
- pCODR is using the Partnership’s cancerview.ca portal as the technology platform for its online presence and to enable electronic submissions by manufacturers and tumour groups. This includes the pCODR public website and the secure group spaces platform, which supports pCODR’s committees and workgroups in collaborating online.
- pCODR is beta testing a tutorial for the Partnership’s Guidelines, Resource Allocation and Public Education (GRAPE) program, which is concerned with connecting to the public on issues related to use of evidence for decision-making. The tutorial is geared toward orienting community representatives, clinicians and policy-makers who are tasked with making recommendations about how to establish priorities and allocate funding based on a variety of important financial, evidence-based and societal factors.
- The Partnership is an observer on the pCODR steering committee, the governing body providing leadership and strategic oversight for pCODR’s development and management.
More information about pCODR, including an overview of the review process, drug review updates, and opportunities to be involved, is available at www.pcodr.ca.