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‘1-minute’ immunotherapy jab rolled out on NHS for tens of thousands with cancer
Tens of thousands of patients could benefit from a ‘rapid’ new immunotherapy jab on the NHS for over a dozen different cancers, which can be given in just 60
About this update from Merck & Company, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" Tens of thousands of patients could benefit from a ‘rapid’ new immunotherapy jab on the NHS for over a dozen different cancers, which can be given in just 60 seconds. The NHS is rolling out a new injectable form of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) which can slash the time the treatment takes by up to 90%, to help patients spend less time in hospital while improving NHS productivity. The jab can be used to treat 14 different cancer types, including lung, breast, head and neck, and cervical, and works by triggering immune cells to recognise and kill cancer cells. 1 of the first patients to receive the new time-saving injection on the NHS – 89-year-old Shirley Xerxes from St Albans – hailed it as “unbelievable” to be in the treatment chair for just a “matter of minutes”, giving her “more time to live her life”. Around 14,000 patients start pembrolizumab therapy each year in England, and most are now expected to benefit from the more convenient treatment. The new under-the-skin injection replaces an intravenous (IV) infusion, which can take up to 2 hours in total per session, sparing patients unnecessary time in treatment units and freeing up capacity for clinicians to see and treat more people. The treatment will be given every 3 weeks as a 1-minute injection or every 6 weeks as a 2-minute injection, depending on an individual’s cancer type. Shirley Xerxes was 1 of the first patients in the UK to receive the new jab at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, managed by East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust. Shirley said: “I was really happy to try out this new way of getting my treatment. I can’t believe how little time it took. “I was only in the chair for a matter of minutes instead of an hour or more. It’s made such a difference and gives me more time to live my life, including spending more time gardening”. Currently, hospital pharmacy teams need to carefully prepare the intravenous bags under specialist sterile conditions, which can be time-consuming for NHS staff. Moving to the ready-to-administer subcutaneous injection both removes this preparation and frees up vital clinic time and space for more patients to receive treatment. Professor Peter Johnson, NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer said: “This immunotherapy offers a lifeline for thousands of patients and it’s fantastic that this new rapid jab can now take just a minut...