NHS Rolls Out Injectable Keytruda to Cut Cancer Treatment Time

A new injectable version of Keytruda, a leading cancer drug, will allow thousands of NHS patients in England to spend far less time in hospital.

Keytruda treats multiple cancers as an immunotherapy that enables the body's immune system to attack cancer cells. Since 2015, patients have received it through an intravenous infusion that takes more than an hour in hospital.

NHS England states the injection will reduce that to a couple of minutes, saving time for patients and staff. Shirley Xerxes, 86, from St Albans in Hertfordshire, was among the first to get the jab at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre near Watford.

She said she sat in the chair "for a matter of minutes instead of an hour or more." "It's made such a difference and gives me more time to live my life, including spending more time gardening."

About 14,000 cancer patients in England begin Keytruda, also known as pembrolizumab, each year. Most will switch to the injectable form. The drug treats 14 cancer types in the UK, including lung, head and neck, cervical and breast.

The new treatment comes every three weeks as a one-minute injection or every six weeks as a two-minute injection, based on the patient's cancer diagnosis. It is the third such immunotherapy available as a jab on the NHS. A new form of Opdivo, or nivolumab, rolled out in some hospitals last year.

Immunotherapy blocks proteins that cancer cells use to hide from the immune system, like an invisibility cloak, allowing immune cells to recognize and destroy them. Scientists James Allison and Tasuku Honjo won the 2018 Nobel Prize in medicine for that discovery.

Keytruda, one of the first immunotherapies approved, started with skin cancer and expanded to others. It leads global prescription drug sales with $30 billion in 2025. Hospital teams previously prepared it sterilely for vein infusion via cannula.

NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, Prof. Peter Johnson, said the switch to quick injections saves time and helps patients. "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."

NHS England declined to disclose the cost of its deal with US drug company Merck Sharp & Dohme. The health service will pay about the same for both versions. Keytruda has generated an estimated $180 billion in sales since launch over a decade ago.

Patents on the original drug expire in 2028 in the US and 2031 in Europe, opening the door for cheaper generics from rivals.