NHS to Offer Cancer Patients Faster Injectable Immunotherapy, Saving Hours in Hospital

England's National Health Service is rolling out a subcutaneous version of nivolumab, a widely used cancer immunotherapy, that can be given in about seven minutes. The intravenous form of the drug typically takes up to an hour to deliver. NHS officials said thousands of patients each year are expected to benefit from the switch.

Nivolumab is used across more than 15 indications, including lung, kidney, bladder and head-and-neck cancers, and works by helping the immune system recognise tumour cells. Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, called the injectable form an innovation that "will give patients hours of their lives back each month." The UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, approved the subcutaneous version after data showed comparable efficacy and safety to the infusion.

Clinicians say the shorter administration time will free up infusion chairs and nursing capacity in oncology units, allowing more patients to be treated. The NHS said rollout will begin in the coming weeks at major cancer centres. Bristol Myers Squibb, which makes the drug, has also expanded the subcutaneous formulation in the United States and the European Union.