NHS England rolls out 60-second pembrolizumab injection to cut treatment chair time

NHS England says it is rolling out a faster under-the-skin form of the cancer immunotherapy pembrolizumab that can be given in about a minute, replacing a hospital infusion process that can take up to two hours in total. The change is expected to benefit most of the roughly 14,000 patients who start pembrolizumab each year in England, cutting time in treatment chairs while easing pressure on clinics.

The injectable version of pembrolizumab, also known by the brand name Keytruda, can be used across 14 cancer types, NHS England said in a news item published Monday. They include lung, breast, head and neck, and cervical cancers. Depending on the regimen, the treatment can be administered as a 60-second injection every three weeks or over two minutes every six weeks. By contrast, the intravenous pathway can take up to two hours per session in total, meaning the switch could reduce treatment time by as much as 90%.

The practical impact extends beyond patients spending less time in hospital. NHS England said the injection is ready to administer and avoids much of the preparation involved in IV delivery, which should free up clinic space, treatment chairs and staff time. Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said the rapid jab means patients can spend less time “in a hospital chair” and allows them to get back to their lives more quickly.

One of the early sites using the new injection is Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, run by East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust. NHS England said Shirley Xerxes, 89, from St Albans, was among the first patients in the U.K. to receive the jab there. “I was really happy to try out this new way of getting my treatment. I can’t believe how little time it took,” she said. “I was only 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.”

Pembrolizumab itself is not a new cancer drug on the NHS. It is an existing immunotherapy, a treatment that helps the immune system attack cancer, but this rollout covers a new subcutaneous formulation administered by a healthcare professional rather than through an IV drip. The formulation combines pembrolizumab with berahyaluronidase alfa, which enables delivery under the skin. It had already been approved in Europe in November 2025, with U.K. product information published later that year and updated in early 2026. Not every patient will move to the injectable version: NHS England said people who need other IV medicines at the same time may continue with intravenous treatment where clinically appropriate.