Cancer Patients to Spend Less Time in Hospital Thanks to New NHS Immunotherapy Injection

NHS Rolls Out Game-Changing Cancer Injection That Takes Just Minutes

Thousands of cancer patients across the United Kingdom are set to benefit from a new injectable form of one of the world's most widely used immunotherapy drugs — a development that could dramatically reduce the amount of time they spend in hospital receiving treatment.

The drug in question is Keytruda, also known by its clinical name pembrolizumab. It is a form of immunotherapy that works by supporting the body's natural immune defences in identifying and targeting cancer cells. Since its introduction in 2015, NHS patients have been receiving it through an intravenous drip — a process that can take well over an hour to complete in a clinical setting.

From Over an Hour to Under Two Minutes

NHS England has confirmed that the newly approved injectable version of Keytruda will cut the administration time to as little as one or two minutes. Depending on a patient's specific diagnosis, the jab will be administered either every three weeks as a one-minute injection or every six weeks as a two-minute injection.

Shirley Xerxes, an 86-year-old from St Albans in Hertfordshire, was among the very first NHS patients in the UK to receive the new injection, at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre near Watford. She described the difference as transformative.

"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."

How Keytruda Works

Cancer cells are capable of evading the body's immune system by releasing proteins that transmit a chemical "stop signal," effectively instructing immune cells to stand down rather than attack. Some researchers have compared this mechanism to the disease wearing an invisibility cloak.

Immunotherapy drugs like Keytruda work by blocking that stop signal, allowing the immune system to recognise and destroy cancer cells more effectively. This scientific breakthrough was so significant that it earned researchers James Allison and Tasuku Honjo the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2018.

Keytruda was among the earliest immunotherapy treatments to receive regulatory approval — initially for skin cancer and subsequently for a broad range of other cancers. It is currently licensed to treat 14 different cancer types in the UK, including lung, breast, cervical, and head and neck cancers.

Impact on the NHS and Wider Healthcare System

Approximately 14,000 cancer patients in England begin a course of Keytruda each year, and NHS England expects the majority of these patients to transition to the injectable format.

Previously, hospital pharmacy teams were required to prepare each infusion bag under sterile conditions before administering it through a cannula into the patient's vein — a resource-intensive process for both staff and facilities. The shift to a standard injection is expected to free up significant capacity within chemotherapy units.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England's National Clinical Director for Cancer, welcomed the change as a meaningful step forward for patient care.

"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."

A Broader Shift Toward Community-Based Cancer Care

The introduction of injectable immunotherapy also opens the door to delivering treatment outside of traditional hospital environments — a prospect that could ease pressure on overstretched NHS facilities while making cancer care more accessible and convenient for patients.

This is the third immunotherapy drug of its type to become available as an injection on the NHS, following the rollout of an injectable form of Opdivo (nivolumab) in certain hospitals last year.

Commercial Context and Patent Controversy

Keytruda is by most measures the best-selling prescription drug in the world. Its manufacturer, US pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), reported global sales of $30 billion in 2025 alone, with cumulative revenues since launch estimated at around $180 billion.

NHS England has not disclosed the cost of the injectable version, citing a confidential pricing agreement with MSD. However, it is understood that the health service will pay a broadly similar price for both the infusion and injection forms of the drug.

The timing of the new formulation has not been without controversy. Patents on the original Keytruda drug are set to expire in 2028 in the United States and 2031 in Europe, which would allow rival manufacturers to produce cheaper biosimilar versions. Critics, including US Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, have suggested that MSD's decision to introduce the new injectable form — protected under separate patents — is at least partly motivated by a desire to maintain market exclusivity and ward off competition.

MSD, for its part, maintains that the injectable format delivers genuine clinical and operational benefits, reducing the burden on hospital resources and freeing up clinical staff to attend to other patient needs.