The CVLP platform will accelerate access to BioNTech and Genentech’s mRNA personalized cancer vaccine.
The NHS has announced that it has treated the first patient in England with a personalised cancer vaccine in a clinical trial as part of NHS England’s new Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP).
With the start of this trial, thousands of cancer patients in England will be able to rapidly receive access to personalised cancer vaccines to help find new life-saving treatments.
The NHS CVLP has partnered with Genomics England to speed up access to mRNA personalised cancer vaccine clinical trials for cancer patients and accelerate the development of cancer vaccines as treatments.
Thirty hospitals in England have already signed up to take part and the scheme aims to reach patients with many types of cancer, working with the pharmaceutical industry.
The study will take place in several NHS trusts across the country treating a range of cancer types, and patients who agree to take part will receive cancer tissue samples and blood tests and be referred to their nearest participating NHS site to take part in the research.
The vaccine, being developed jointly by biopharmaceutical companies BioNTech and Genentech, is designed to trigger an immune response that stimulates a patient’s immune system to recognize and destroy remaining cancer cells, preventing the cancer from returning after surgery for the primary tumor.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “These vaccine trials could provide a way in future to vaccinate people against their own cancer and save many more lives.”
“Our national matching service will ensure as many eligible patients as possible have the opportunity for access.”
2023, BioNTech Announced A partnership with the UK Government to bring precision cancer immunotherapy to up to 10,000 patients by 2030.
The German biotech company has already begun clinical trials in the UK, with the NHS CVLP helping to recruit eligible patients.
If successful, the experimental vaccine could be approved as part of standard of care for cancer treatment.
