New Drug Funding Program

Applicants must be resident of Ontario and have a valid Ontario Health Card to be considered eligible. Get information on how to apply for Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and get a health card.

The Program covers many high-cost injectable cancer drugs that are given in the hospital or a cancer centre. These drugs are used to treat a variety of cancers including solid tumors (e.g., breast, colon, prostate) and blood cancers (e.g., leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma).

To be approved for coverage, the patient must meet the eligibility criteria for the given drug. Eligibility criteria can be found on the Drug Formulary. The drug listing will indicate if the drug is funded through the NDFP. 

To receive coverage under the NDFP, a physician must apply on behalf of the patient.

Applications can be submitted via our online system, eClaims. In some cases, supporting medical records may be requested to confirm patient eligibility.

Patients who are approved by the Program do not pay for the drug.

Hospitals are reimbursed directly by the Program. 

The Systemic Treatment-Quality Based Procedure will cover any costs associated with the delivery of the NDFP-funded drug (e.g., nursing and pharmacy time to make and administer the drug).

The Program directly reimburses Ontario’s regional cancer centres and more than 80 community hospitals for eligible treatment claims.

The Program does not reimburse individual patients or retail pharmacies.

Hospitals should submit all treatment claims and supporting documentation (if required) via eClaims according to the monthly submission schedule. For the most up-to-date reimbursement process and policies, hospitals should refer to the eClaims resource library or contact their reimbursement specialist

Note: The program will not pay for:

• Doses administered to patients who do not continue to meet the eligibility criteria for the given drug(s).
• Doses administered in the hospital inpatient setting, unless otherwise specified and approved by the Ministry of Health.
• Doses administered in private infusion clinics.

The Program will not pay for:

• Cancer drugs that have not been evaluated and approved by the Ministry of Health for listing under the New Drug Funding Program.
• Drugs that are currently under review or expected to be reviewed for funding under the New Drug Funding Program.
• Compassionate requests that do not meet the intent of the established funding criteria for a given drug.

An appeal can be submitted by the doctor who submitted the initial request.

The appeal must be filed via eClaims and include a robust rationale to refute the reason(s) for rejection is provided. Information on our appeal process can be found in the NDFP/EBP Resubmissions and Appeals Policy.

Ontario engages in a pan-Canadian review process where various expert committees will assess a new cancer drug’s benefit, safety, and value for money.

This in-depth process considers evidence from clinical trials as well as input from cancer physicians, patients, pharmacists, and health economists. The Ministry of Health’s Executive Officer makes the final decision to fund a new cancer drug under the New Drug Funding Program. The Program then pays for the drug according to the criteria approved by the Ministry.

For more information, see Funding Process for High Cost Cancer Drugs.

The Ministry of Health and Ontario Health strongly support clinical trial research. Policies have been developed to support clinical trial participation and provide guidance on how participation in a particular clinical trial may impact patient eligibility for publicly funded cancer drugs.

For more information, see:

Funding for Systemic Treatment Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials Policy 3.0

Systemic Treatment Clinical Trials