Hundreds of NHS patients are to get swifter treatment thanks to the approval of a cancer jab.
Atezolizumab is usually given to patients intravenously (via an IV drip) but now many patients in England are to be given the immunotherapy via an injection.
The drug, also known as Tecentriq, is a treatment for a number of different types of cancer, including lung, breast, liver and bladder cancers, and it is given to around 3,600 patients in England each year.
It is expected that the majority of these people will now get the drug via a seven-minute injection instead of intravenously, which usually takes 30 minutes to an hour.
The world-first introduction of this treatment will mean that hundreds of patients can spend less time at the hospital and will free up valuable time in NHS chemotherapy units— Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England
Patients who receive atezolizumab alongside chemotherapy may still be given the drug intravenously.
The drug is known as a “checkpoint inhibitor” and works by helping the immune system find and kill cancer cells.
The NHS in England said it has become the first health system in the world to roll out the injection version of the drug after it was approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
NHS England’s national director for cancer Professor Peter Johnson said: “The world-first introduction of this treatment will mean that hundreds of patients can spend less time at the hospital and will free up valuable time in NHS chemotherapy units.
“Maintaining the best possible quality of life for cancer patients is vital, so the introduction of faster under-the-skin injections will make an important difference.”
Marius Scholtz, medical director for Roche Products Limited, which manufactures the jab, said: “Injecting Tecentriq under the skin offers a faster treatment option as it takes approximately seven minutes, compared with 30 to 60 minutes for the current method of an intravenous infusion of Tecentriq.
“We are delighted that NHS patients across England have access to the subcutaneous PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy injection.”
