Cancer vaccine trials will begin in the United Kingdom in 2023 after the Rishi Sunak government signed a deal with German biopharmaceutical firm BioNTech to conduct clinical trials. The British patients are set to be enrolled for the clinical trials in autumn, The Telegraph reported.
The report said that a lab of around 70 scientists will be created in Cambridge to spearhead the research. BioNTech will also set up a London-based office as its UK headquarters, it added.
Cancer vaccine trials: What is expected?
The BioNTech cancer vaccines are not preventative. That is, in conventional sense, a public vaccination programme on the lines of smallpox or COVID-19 vaccination programmes, cannot be held to prevent cancer. The BioNTech cancer vaccines, instead, are designated as “therapeutic tools” to fight already diagnosed cancer and advanced tumours.
It is expected that once the vaccines are found to be safe and effective, as many as 10,000 doses will be given to UK patients by 2030.
Professor Ugur Sahin, the chief executive and co-founder of BioNTech said in an official statement that the success of the upcoming trial will enable a worldwide roll out of such vaccines in the future.
“If successful, this collaboration has the potential to improve outcomes for patients and provide early access to our suite of cancer immunotherapies as well as to innovative vaccines against infectious diseases in the UK and worldwide,” Professor Ugur Sahin said.
Cancer vaccine trials: Which forms of cancer will be targeted?
The forms of cancer, including breast, lung and pancreatic, will reportedly be targeted by BioNTech’s vaccine technology. The vaccines will be administered to early and late-stage cancer patients, targeting both active cancer cells and setting up a course of action in the body to prevent their return.
According to the World Health Organisation, Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. It was reported to have accounted for 10 million worldwide deaths in 2020.
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