New Openprescribing Hospital measure tracks NHS rollout of faster cancer jab

Pembrolizumab, a cancer treatment that once required patients to sit through infusions of up to two hours, can now be given as an injection in minutes. A new OpenPrescribing Hospitals measure shows, trust by trust, how quickly the NHS is making the switch. It is the first in a series of new measures launching on OpenPrescribing Hospitals this autumn.

Pembrolizumab treats 14 types of cancers, including lung, breast, head and neck, and cervical cancer. Until recently, it was administered by intravenous (IV) infusion, with treatment sessions lasting up to two hours.

In May 2026, pembrolizumab became available as a subcutaneous injection across the UK, and its rollout was supported by NHS England. With approximately 14,000 patients starting pembrolizumab each year in England, the new formulation offers a faster way for patients to receive treatment, and frees up time for NHS staff to care for other patients.

The new subcutaneous pembrolizumab measure provides NHS teams with a ready-made analysis of hospital medicines data, showing the percentage of pembrolizumab issued as the new subcutaneous formulation at hospitals across England. NHS teams can see how their trust compares to other trusts, spot where adoption has been faster, and share practical solutions to support the rollout.

Dr. Vicky Speed, Clinical Informatician at the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, said:

The pembrolizumab measure was a priority for us to launch and we were delighted to be able to launch it as soon as NHS data was available for May. We had a number of OpenPrescribing Hospitals users mention that the new subcutaneous preparation was coming, and that it would make a great measure alongside our other similar cancer therapy measures. It’s great to be able to take the ideas of our users and deliver the measure quickly. It’s early days yet, but we’re looking forward to seeing the measure grow, meaning more patients are accessing this product.

Louis Fisher, Data Scientist at the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, said:

OpenPrescribing Hospitals makes it possible to see how quickly new treatments are being adopted across hospitals in England and allows us to identify any unwarranted variation in their adoption. This new measure for pembrolizumab joins our other cancer measures looking at the uptake of Nivolumab, Atezolizumab, Phesgo, which have all shown rapid adoption.”

Chris Wood, Clinical Informatician at the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, said:

“For NHS staff, being able to quickly see their trust’s uptake of subcutaneous pembrolizumab and compare it with their peers can help them identify where adoption is slower, and see which trusts have adopted it more quickly so they can share their approach. For patients, wider uptake of the new formulation across trusts will mean that more patients will benefit from shorter treatment visits.”

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