NHS Expands Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad to Include Melanoma Trial

Introduction

NHS England has confirmed that patients with advanced skin cancer will be “fast-tracked into pioneering cancer vaccine trials” through its Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, which is “already helping patients with other forms of the disease get earlier access to trials”. The expanded initiative now includes access to the iSCIB1+ vaccine for melanoma.

The vaccine is being tested in the phase II SCOPE trial, coordinated by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit. It is being delivered in partnership with UK-based life sciences company Scancell.

About the Vaccine and Trial

According to NHS England, the vaccine “is not personalised to the patient’s own cancer but targets the immune response to a protein (called gp100) found on melanoma cells.” The treatment is given via “needle-free injection, either into the skin or muscle,” and may be administered “for up to two years.”

Patients will undergo a “simple blood test to check their tissue type” to determine eligibility. The SCOPE trial is open to those who “have been diagnosed with advanced melanoma and have not yet started treatment.” The trial is currently recruiting patients and aims to enrol more by October 2025.

Access and National Rollout

The vaccine will initially be available at “seven NHS trusts in England,” with the trial expected to “expand to more sites in the coming months.” The Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad allows patients to be “matched to trials of vaccines against different types of cancer, at hospital sites across the country.”

Statements from NHS Leaders

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer, said:
“Skin cancer can have a devastating impact, and we know that cancer vaccines have the potential to revolutionise cancer care for patients in this country and across the world – and to save more lives.”

He added: “This trial is for a vaccine that stimulates a patient’s immune system to fight cancer and is one of the first being delivered through the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, which will facilitate a number of trials, for many more types of cancer, over the coming years.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also commented:
“This kind of innovation is nothing short of life-saving, and I want to see more of these world-leading treatments being developed and deployed here in the UK, to both improve and save people’s lives.”

Conclusion

The expansion of the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad to include the iSCIB1+ melanoma vaccine trial marks a significant step in NHS England’s efforts to increase access to cutting-edge treatments. By enabling faster patient recruitment through a national platform, the NHS aims to improve care for those with advanced melanoma while contributing to global cancer vaccine research.

Citation:
NHS England. (2025, April 14). Skin cancer patients given fast-tracked access to ‘revolutionary’ cancer vaccine trial on NHS. NHS England.