Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide cancer vaccines to patients through the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

The Life Sciences Vision’s Healthcare Mission on Cancer will support the development of new immunological interventions for cancer. In partnership with Genomics England, NHS England is developing plans for a Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, which will help determine which cancer patients might be eligible for cancer vaccine trials. The Launch Pad will aim to support trials into vaccines across multiple types of cancer, with trials starting as early as autumn 2023.

The Government is also working closely with the life sciences sector to bring innovative cancer therapies to National Health Service patients. In January, a partnership was announced with BioNTech which will accelerate clinical trials of personalised mRNA therapies, like cancer vaccines.