An injectable form of immunotherapy treatment Keytruda (active ingredient pembrolizumab) is now being offered to cancer patients for the first time by the NHS. Pembrolizumab is used in the treatment of various forms of cancer including melanoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. Importantly, this new injectable form can be administered in under two minutes (whereas current intravenous administration times can be over an hour). It is expected to save the NHS hundreds of thousands of hours in preparing and administering treatments for cancer patients each year.
This new form of pembrolizumab follows the introduction last year of an injectable form of nivolumab, another cancer immunotherapy, that takes approximately three to five minutes to administer. It is hoped that these rapid delivery solutions will benefit patients and healthcare bodies by drastically reducing the time required to administer the treatment, shortening waiting times, and cutting the associated costs. These advancements are highly welcome in the ongoing fight against cancer and are likely to be a fascinating area of immunotherapy innovation in coming years.
Our biotechnology team supports a wide range of developers in bringing novel immunotherapy treatments to patients. Find out more about their work here.
