title: Hurdles and delays in access to anti-cancer drugs in Europe.
abstract: Demographic changes in the world population will cause a significant increase in the number of new cases of cancer. To handle this challenge, societies will need to adapt how they approach cancer prevention and treatment, with changes to the development and uptake of innovative anticancer drugs playing an important role. However, there are obstacles to implementing innovative drugs in clinical practice. Prior to being incorporated into daily practice, the drug must obtain regulatory and reimbursement approval, succeed in changing the prescription habits of physicians, and ultimately gain the compliance of individual patients. Developing an anticancer drug and bringing it into clinical practice is, therefore, a lengthy and complex process involving multiple partners in several areas. To optimize patient treatment and increase the likelihood of implementing health innovation, it is essential to have an overview of the full process. This review aims to describe the process and discuss the hurdles arising at each step.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1000, Belgium.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ades
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1000, Belgium.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zardavas
authors.affiliation: Research Centre of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Clinical Research, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1050, Belgium.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Senterre
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1000, Belgium.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Azambuja
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Tumours, Cancer institute Ion Chiricuta, Cluj-Napoca RO-400015, Romania.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eniu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Hirslanden Clinic Aarau, Aarau 5001, Switzerland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Popescu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1000, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piccart
authors.affiliation: Research Centre of Social Approaches of Health, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1050, Belgium.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Parent
keywords: European Medicines Agency (EMA); European Union; drug uptake; marketing authorization; prescription and compliance; pricing and reimbursement