A one-minute cancer jab is now available on the NHS, offering tens of thousands of patients a dramatically faster way to receive life-saving immunotherapy treatment.
The new injectable form of pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, cuts the time needed to deliver the drug by up to 90 per cent. Until now, patients had to spend long periods on an intravenous drip, with the infusion itself taking around half an hour to 45 minutes and the total hospital visit often stretching to one or two hours. The subcutaneous injection reduces that to as little as a minute, meaning patients can quickly get back to their daily lives.
How the new injection works
Pembrolizumab is an immunotherapy drug that works by blocking a protein called PD-1, which normally acts as a brake on the body’s immune system. By releasing that brake, the drug enables the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. The injectable version is approved for 14 different types of cancer, including lung, breast, head and neck, cervical cancer and melanoma.
The difference in administration is stark. Previously, hospital pharmacy teams had to prepare the drug in intravenous bags under sterile conditions – a time-consuming process. The IV infusion involved around 100ml of fluid – roughly a third of a can of Coca-Cola – delivered through a cannula inserted into a vein. The new injection contains just 4ml, less than a teaspoon, and is given under the skin, typically in the abdomen or thigh. The injection itself takes between one and two minutes.
According to an analysis by the manufacturer MSD, the switch cuts the amount of time staff spend preparing the treatment by 44 per cent. A time and motion study also found that patient chair time was reduced by nearly half with the subcutaneous method compared with the IV infusion.
Patient experiences
One of the first patients to receive the new injection on the NHS was 89-year-old Shirley Xerxes from St Albans in Hertfordshire, who has bowel cancer. She was treated at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, part of the East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust. “Having the injection has been great and the nurse was so good, so kind,” she told the Press Association. “I just had it in my tummy. But it’s not as quick as a Covid jab. It takes a couple of minutes. I feel appreciative, really. I mean, we don’t have to pay for it. It’s good, I’m very appreciative. It’s been wonderful. Now I can spend more time on gardening, especially now spring is here.”
Another patient at Mount Vernon, Stephen Friend, 67, who has melanoma, said: “This new process takes away a lot of the stress, I think. Up until now I’ve been extremely healthy, I’ve not really used the NHS up until now. And it’s just been amazing.”
What the experts say
Vikash Dodhia, head of pharmacy at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, said Shirley Xerxes was likely the first patient in the country to receive this particular treatment. He explained: “So generally with immunotherapy treatment, patients have to have a IV drip, essentially that’s probably about 100mls – so about a third of a coke can almost. That’s got to go through the veins and it will take about half an hour or 45 minutes for that to be administered to them. The patient also then has to have a cannula inserted into their veins to receive that particular treatment. With this new way of giving it, it’s 4mls – less than a teaspoon… So for a patient, it means they get all of that time back. For staff, if you’re able to give the treatments much quicker, that means you can actually treat more patients through the treatment chairs. So in a unit like this we are able to then accommodate more patients in a given day and actually treat patients quicker. And we all know, particularly in cancer, the sooner you start the treatment, the better benefit there is. And the drug itself, in terms of cost to the NHS, is exactly the same.”
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said: “This immunotherapy offers a lifeline for thousands of patients and it’s fantastic that this new rapid jab can now take just a minute to deliver – meaning patients can get back to living their lives rather than spending hours in a hospital chair. Managing cancer treatment and regular hospital trips can be really exhausting, and not only will this innovation make therapy much quicker and more convenient for patients, it will help free up vital appointments for NHS teams to treat more people and continue to bring down waiting times.” Professor Johnson is also professor of medical oncology at the University of Southampton and a former chief clinician for Cancer Research UK.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, a cancer survivor himself, said: “As a cancer survivor, I know how important quick treatment is, and this rollout will offer quicker, more convenient care, saving patients time and helping them in their recovery with less time in hospital. Not only that – it’ll also free up valuable time so clinicians can care for even more people and potentially save even more lives.”
John McNeill, oncology business unit director at MSD in the UK, said: “This innovation offers a practical, patient-centred solution to improve productivity, capacity, and convenience in NHS cancer care.”
Side effects and safety
Like all medicines, pembrolizumab can cause side effects. Common ones include fatigue, muscle and joint pain, diarrhoea, rash, decreased appetite, fever, cough, shortness of breath, itching, and changes in thyroid function. Serious immune-related reactions can occur, such as colitis (inflammation of the large intestine), hepatitis (liver inflammation), pneumonitis (lung inflammation), and severe skin reactions including Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Injection site reactions are also common with the subcutaneous form. Doctors can manage side effects, sometimes using corticosteroids, and treatment may need to be delayed or stopped for severe reactions. Women of childbearing potential are advised to use effective contraception during treatment and for at least four months after the last dose.
Rollout and availability
Around 14,000 patients start pembrolizumab therapy each year in England, and most are expected to switch to the new injection. The treatment is given every three weeks as a one-minute injection or every six weeks as a two-minute injection, depending on the type of cancer. Patients who receive pembrolizumab alongside other intravenous treatments may continue with an infusion where clinically appropriate.
The subcutaneous formulation is the first MHRA-approved subcutaneously delivered immune checkpoint inhibitor. The European Commission approved it in November 2025. The cost to the NHS for the drug itself is the same whether given as a drip or an injection.
