New program brings costly cancer therapies onto Ontario drug plans up to a year sooner
Ontario is quietly changing the timeline for when high‑cost cancer drugs hit public plans – and that shift could move some pressure points for private sponsors sooner than before.
According to the Ontario government, the Funding Accelerated for Specific Treatments (FAST) program is a three‑year pilot that lets the province publicly fund select cancer drugs up to one year earlier than under the usual reimbursement process, which typically takes close to two years in Canada.
The province plans to fast‑track seven to ten high‑priority cancer drugs each year through this pathway.
As per the Ontario government, FAST currently funds six cancer treatments:
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Tagrisso (osimertinib) for lung cancer
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Scemblix for a type of leukemia
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Nubeqa for prostate cancer
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Calquence (acalabrutinib tablets) for lymphoma
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Opdivo with Yervoy for a type of colorectal cancer
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Opdivo with Yervoy for a type of liver cancer
CTV News reports that these five drugs treat six illnesses in total, including lung, prostate, liver and colorectal cancers, as well as leukemia and lymphoma.
AstraZeneca Canada says Tagrisso and Calquence are among the first therapies to receive accelerated access through FAST and are now publicly funded in Ontario.
Following positive recommendations from the Canadian Drug Agency (CDA‑AMC), AstraZeneca Canada says Ontario now reimburses Tagrisso for patients with locally advanced, unresectable (stage III) non‑small cell lung cancer with specific EGFR mutations whose disease has not progressed during or after platinum‑based chemoradiation.
Coverage requires a validated test to confirm EGFR mutation‑positive status.
AstraZeneca Canada also states that Calquence is now publicly reimbursed in Ontario with bendamustine and rituximab for adults with previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant.
Global News reports that patients in Canada often wait up to two years for new publicly funded medicines, roughly a year longer than patients in other developed countries.
Most of that delay comes after a drug is approved as safe and effective, during funding decisions that can take 18 to 24 months.
In the same report, Keith Stewart of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre highlights that some cancer therapies can cost $10,000 a dose and certain cellular treatments can reach up to $500,000 for one treatment, underscoring the financial stakes when access is accelerated.
CTV News notes that before FAST, some drugs now in the program were not fully covered under the Ontario Drug Benefit plan despite Health Canada approval.
Tagrisso, for example, was approved in 2016 but, as of 2023, remained available only on a case‑by‑case basis through the Exceptional Access Program at a cost of 322.13 per 80 mg.
As per the Ontario government, FAST prioritizes medicines approved through Project Orbis, an international initiative that fast‑tracks regulatory review for promising cancer therapies and involves Health Canada.
The province says this lets it fund certain cancer drugs before national pricing negotiations are finalized, with the three‑year pilot to be evaluated for long‑term sustainability.
