NHS England announced a new “jab” targeting fifteen types of cancers.
The “super-jab,” as described by an NHS news release, will be received by “thousands of patients.”
“The health service is rolling out an injectable form of immunotherapy, nivolumab, which means patients can receive their fortnightly or monthly treatment in 5 minutes instead of up to an hour via an IV drip,” the release says, explaining that the development will save more than a year’s worth of treatment time.
Cancers targeted by the “super-jab” include skin, bladder, oesophagus, and others.
According to the news release, patients who received the “under-the-skin injection” were “highly satisfied.” The injection took 3-5 minutes to administer and was preferred over the IV form of the drug.
NHS England National Clinical Director for Cancer Professor Peter Johnson said in a statement, “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,” Johnson said. “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.”
The Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Ashley Dalton, said the development showcases Britain as a “hotbed of innovation.”
Clinical Pharmacist and National Specialty Adviser for Cancer Drugs James Richardson said the injection is a “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.”
The Russian Ministry of Health announced earlier this year that it had developed a cancer vaccine to be distributed in 2025.
