Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks to scientists on the sidelines of the Future Technologies Forum at the World Trade Centre in Moscow, Russia.
| Photo Credit: AP

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russian scientists were close to creating vaccines for cancer that could soon be available to patients.

Mr. Putin said in televised comments that “we have come very close to the creation of so-called cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs of a new generation”.

“I hope that soon they will be effectively used as methods of individual therapy,” he added, speaking at a Moscow forum on future technologies.

Mr. Putin did not specify which types of cancer the proposed vaccines would target, nor how.

A number of countries and companies are working on cancer vaccines. Last year the U.K. government signed an agreement with Germany-based BioNTech to launch clinical trials providing “personalised cancer treatments”, aiming to reach 10,000 patients by 2030.

Pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck & Co are developing an experimental cancer vaccine that a mid-stage study showed cut the chance of recurrence or death from melanoma – the most deadly skin cancer – by half after three years of treatment.

There are currently six licensed vaccines against human papillomaviruses (HPV) that cause many cancers, including cervical cancer, according to the World Health Organization, as well as vaccines against hepatitis B (HBV), which can lead to liver cancer.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Russia developed its own Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 and sold it to a number of countries, although domestically it ran up against widespread public reluctance to get vaccinated.

Putin himself said he had taken Sputnik, in a bid to assure people of its efficacy and safety.

Currently, cancer patients receive the life-extending immunotherapy atezolizumab in hospital directly into their veins via a drug transfusion, which can take from 30 minutes to up to an hour to administer. Image for representation purpose only. File
| Photo Credit: Zappys Technology Solutions/Flickr

An anti-cancer jab that can cut down treatment time for some by three quarters has been rolled out by National Health Service (NHS) England, the U.K.’s publicly funded healthcare system.

The jab takes as little as 7 minutes to administer, NHS England said in a statement, adding that it will be the first health system in the world to roll out the seven-minute injection to hundreds of NHS cancer patients each year.

The vaccine has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the statement said.

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MHRA is a U.K. state agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe.

Currently, the patients receive the life-extending immunotherapy atezolizumab in hospital directly into their veins via a drug transfusion (intravenously), which can take from 30 minutes to up to an hour to administer, the statement said.

This anti-cancer jab, a subcutaneous or under-the-skin injection, is swifter and is expected to enhance the patients’ experience, it said.

The quicker administration could also free up valuable time for NHS cancer teams, it said.

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The healthcare system of England anticipates the majority of the approximately 3,600 patients starting their annual atezolizumab treatment in England to switch onto the time-saving injection.

Atezolizumab is an immunotherapy drug, currently offered by transfusion, that empowers a patient’s own immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. The drug is adminstered to NHS patients with a range of cancers, including lung, breast, liver and bladder.

However, patients receiving intravenous chemotherapy in combination with atezolizumab may remain on the transfusion, the statement said.

“Maintaining the best possible quality of life for cancer patients is vital, so the introduction of faster under-the-skin injections will make an important difference,” said NHS National Director for Cancer, Peter Johnson.

“This is great news for both patients and clinicians. We welcome any new initiative that brings speedier treatment to patients and gives them more comfortable care,” said Alexander Martin, a consultant oncologist at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.