Ontario has decided to expand the access and funding for Avastin, a costly cancer drug for colorectal cancer patients, which was the subject of a bitter review released earlier this year by the province's ombudsman André Marin, who said that the Government's decision to cut-off funding after a mere 16 treatments "verges on cruelty".

As per Ontario's Liberal Government's announcement on Sunday, the cost of Avastin will be covered by the state, so that the medicine is available to all those who require it beyond the 16 two-week treatments that are currently paid for, but only if there is convincing evidence provided that the disease has not progressed.

The new program is effective immediately and will extend the funded Avastin treatment to last for up-to 24 cycles, after which the treatment using the drug will only be available on advice from the either the cancer patient's doctor or oncologist.

Avastin, which is quite expensive and has already been rejected by UK's NICE, works by cutting off the blood supply to cancerous tumors, and the treatment can cost anywhere between $35,000 to $40,000 per patient, per year.

New Brunswick also added the drug to the list of medicines it covers funds for last week and now Prince Edward Island is the only province which is left.