New Injectable Cancer Drug Reduces Hospital Time for NHS Patients
A new injectable form of Keytruda, a vital cancer drug, could significantly reduce the time thousands of NHS patients across the UK spend in hospital.
Keytruda, an immunotherapy medication already used to treat various cancers, assists the body's immune system in targeting and destroying cancer cells.
Since 2015, NHS patients have received Keytruda via intravenous infusion, a process that can take over an hour to complete in hospital.
NHS England reports that the new injectable version shortens the administration time to just a few minutes, conserving valuable time for both patients and healthcare staff.
Shirley Xerxes, an 86-year-old from St Albans, Hertfordshire, was among the first patients to receive the injection at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre near Watford.
"I was in the chair for a matter of minutes instead of an hour or more,"she said.
"It's made such a difference and gives me more time to live my life, including spending more time gardening."
Approximately 14,000 cancer patients in England begin treatment with Keytruda, also known as pembrolizumab, annually. Most of these patients are expected to transition to the injectable form.
Currently, Keytruda is approved in the UK for treating 14 different cancer types, including lung, head and neck, cervical, and breast cancers.
The injectable treatment will be administered every three weeks as a one-minute injection or every six weeks as a two-minute injection, depending on the patient's specific cancer diagnosis.
This marks the third immunotherapy drug of its kind available via injection on the NHS, following the introduction of an injectable form of Opdivo (nivolumab) in some hospitals last year.
Understanding Immunotherapy
Cancer cells can evade the immune system by producing proteins that send "stop signals" to immune cells, preventing them from attacking the cancer.
Scientists often describe this mechanism as the cancer hiding behind an "invisibility cloak."
Immunotherapy works by blocking these stop signals, enabling the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells more effectively.
This breakthrough earned James Allison and Tasuku Honjo the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2018.
Keytruda was among the first immunotherapy drugs approved, initially for skin cancer and subsequently for other cancer types.
It is now the world's best-selling prescription medicine, with global sales projected to reach $30 billion (£22 billion) in 2025.
Until the injectable form was introduced, hospital pharmacy teams prepared Keytruda in sterile conditions as an infusion bag, administered intravenously through a cannula.
Benefits and Implementation
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, emphasized the advantages of the new injection.
"Managing cancer treatment and regular hospital trips can be really exhausting,"he said.
"If we can do this in a much shorter period of time, it frees up space in our chemotherapy units and means we can start thinking about giving treatment in the community and away from hospitals."
NHS England has not disclosed the cost of the injectable version due to a confidential agreement with the US pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD).
However, it is understood that the NHS will pay a similar price for both the injectable and infusion forms of Keytruda.
Keytruda is one of the most financially successful medicines ever, with estimated sales of $180 billion since its launch over a decade ago.
The patents protecting the original drug will expire in 2028 in the US and 2031 in Europe, potentially allowing generic manufacturers to produce lower-cost versions.
In the US, some critics, including Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, have accused MSD of introducing the new injectable form—covered by different patents—as a strategy to delay competition from generics.
MSD states that the injectable offers "meaningful benefits" for hospitals by reducing administration time, freeing clinical staff for other tasks, and potentially easing pressure on NHS resources.
