NHS fast-tracks eye cancer drug

The NHS has rolled out the first ever treatment for an aggressive form of eye cancer, helping hundreds of patients across England. 

Patients diagnosed with uveal melanoma were now able to receive tebentafusp due to 'fast-tracked rollout' supported by NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund, following drug approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The drug, also known by its brand name Kimmtrak, has been researched and developed in Oxford by UK-based company Immunocore, and proved to increase survival chances, extending patients’ lives by an average of 5 months compared to standard treatments.