The injectable immunotherapy against 15 types of cancer could save around 1,000 hours of treatment time for patients and clinicians in England every month.
The NHS is rolling out an injectable form of immunotherapy – nivolumab – for more than a dozen types of cancer which means patients can receive their fortnightly or monthly treatment in five minutes instead of up to an hour via an IV drip.
Following approval from the UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the new jab can be used to treat 15 cancer types, including skin cancer, bladder, and oesophagus, and it estimates that 1,200 patients in England a month could benefit.
“Immunotherapy has already been a huge step forward for many NHS patients with cancer, and being able to offer it as an injection in minutes means we can make the process far more convenient,” said Peter Johnson, NHS England national clinical director for cancer.
The rollout is part of NHS England’s aim to combine innovations such as a potential cure for sickle cell and cystic fibrosis drugs; smarter use of biosimilars and generics; and new treatments like this that free up clinical capacity and improve patient experience.
Saving treatment time
In clinical trials, patients were highly satisfied with the under-the-skin injection, which takes three to five minutes to administer, and preferred it to the IV form of the drug which takes 30 to 60 minutes every two weeks or four weeks, depending on the cancer type.
The NHS estimates that 40% of patients who currently receive IV nivolumab, which is one of the most widely used cancer treatments, should be eligible for the new jab.
It also estimates that the NHS could save around 1,000 hours of treatment time for patients and clinicians every month.
NHS cancer services will now prepare to treat the first patients with the new treatment in June when supplies of the product are received in the UK.
“This is fantastic news for patients – reducing treatment times from an hour to just minutes is a huge boost for people going through cancer care, helping them to spend less time in hospital,” said NHS England chief financial officer Elizabeth O’Mahony.
“It’s also a major win for the NHS, saving the equivalent of a year’s worth of treatment time which can be used to deliver other care, building on the great strides made in the past six months, and thanks to a deal struck by NHS England this quick treatment will be available without any additional cost,” she continued.
