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Patients with cancer in England will be the first in Europe to have access to an injectable form of the immunotherapy drug nivolumab, the National Health Service of England (NHS England) has announced. This step will significantly reduce treatment time and increase patient convenience.
Injectable nivolumab, known by the trade name Opdivo, has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as an alternative to intravenous administration, which can take up to an hour. The new injection takes only 3-5 minutes and is suitable for treating 15 types of cancer, including lung, bowel, kidney, bladder, oesophagus, skin, and head and neck cancers.
NHS England estimates that around 15,000 patients a year will benefit from this innovation. As treatments are given every two weeks or month, the switch to injections will save the equivalent of more than a year’s worth of treatment time each year. Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer, said the decision would not only make the process easier for patients, but also free up hospital capacity to treat more people.
Nivolumab helps the immune system fight cancer by blocking signals from tumour cells that suppress the immune response. The drug binds to the PD-1 protein on T cells, which allows the immune system to recognise and destroy cancer cells. According to the NHS, around 1,200 patients a month will be able to switch to the injectable form, and most new patients are likely to receive it.
Importantly, the switch to injectables will not increase costs for the NHS. After negotiations with the manufacturer, Bristol Myers Squibb, a price agreement was reached that keeps the cost at the same level as intravenous injections.
Nasser Turabi, Director of Evidence and Implementation at Cancer Research UK, emphasised that such innovations are critical to delivering faster and more effective treatments for cancer patients. “We are in a golden era of cancer research and it is important that our healthcare system continues to adapt to give patients the best care possible,” he said. Turabi also called on the government to seize the opportunity of the new national cancer plan in England to invest in advanced treatments and technology.
This initiative is part of NHS England’s wider strategy to improve cancer care, which also includes the introduction of new tools to speed up diagnosis and treatment, as well as access to innovative drugs and vaccines, such as rapid access to the melanoma vaccine for patients in England.
Source: The Guardian
