Thousands of patients will benefit from a new cancer jab for more
than a dozen types of the disease, with the NHS the first in
Europe to offer the new injection.
The health service is rolling out an injectable form of
immunotherapy, nivolumab, which means patients can receive their
fortnightly or monthly treatment in five minutes instead of up to
an hour via an IV drip.
The roll-out will save over a year's worth of treatment time for
patients and NHS teams annually – enabling patients to spend less
time in hospital while freeing up staff capacity to deliver more
appointments and treatments.
The new jab can be used to treat 15 cancer types, including skin
cancer, bladder, and oesophagus, and it is estimated around 1,200
patients in England per month could benefit.
This follows approval from the UK's medicines regulator, the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
In clinical trials, patients were highly satisfied with the
under-the-skin injection, which takes 3-5 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.
Around two in five patients who currently receive IV
nivolumab, which is one of the most widely used cancer
treatments, should be eligible for the new jab.
NHS staff administering the jab could save around 1,000
hours of treatment time for patients and clinicians every
month – the equivalent of more than one full year of time
annually.
Most eligible new patients are also expected to begin on the
injectable form of nivolumab.
NHS cancer services will now be preparing to treat the first
patients with the new treatment next month when supplies of the
product are received in the UK, helping to free up valuable
resources in nursing and pharmacy teams, as well as helping with
capacity demands in cancer day units, where the drug is currently
administered.
This is the latest in a series of NHS cancer treatment
innovations introduced to save patients time and improve access,
including the rollout of new injections for breast cancer,
multiple sclerosis, and blood disorders.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England National Clinical
Director for Cancer, said: “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.
“This treatment is used for 15 different types of the disease, so
it will free up thousands of valuable clinicians' time every
year, allowing teams to treat even more patients and helping
hospital capacity.
“And this is just the latest development in the NHS's ongoing
commitment to provide patients with the latest cancer therapies
and treatment options that truly transform lives.”
Minister for Public Health and Prevention, , said: "Britain is
a hotbed of innovation, masterminding the newest tech and medical
inventions to help people navigating illness. A new jab that
fastens up cancer treatment is a prime example of this, so it's
fantastic to see cancer patients in England will be among the
first in Europe to benefit.
"With cancer medicines getting better all the time, this
government will ensure that NHS patients are among the first to
access the latest treatments and technology.
"Our National Cancer Plan will transform the way we approach this
disease, improving care and bringing this country's cancer
survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the
world."
The faster treatment comes at no extra cost to the NHS thanks to
an agreement negotiated by NHS England with the manufacturer
Bristol Myers Squibb.
James Richardson, Clinical Pharmacist and National
Specialty Adviser for Cancer Drugs, said: “I am
delighted that NHS patients across England will soon be able to
benefit from this quicker-to-administer, effective treatment,
that can be used to treat a range of cancer types, including skin
cancer and solid tumours originating in the kidneys. This is a
significant advancement in cancer treatment, with the potential
to improve the lives of thousands of patients each month.”
Elizabeth O'Mahony, NHS England Chief Financial Officer,
said: “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. 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.”
The rollout forms part of NHS England's three-pillar approach to
delivering the best value from medicines – combining cutting-edge
innovations such as a potential cure for sickle cell and
life-changing cystic fibrosis drugs; smarter use of biosimilars
and generics delivering hundreds of millions in annual savings;
and new treatments like this that free up clinical capacity and
improve patient experience.
