The NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) is a platform that will speed up access to messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) personalised cancer vaccine clinical trials for people who have been diagnosed with cancer. It will also accelerate the development of cancer vaccines as a form of cancer treatment.

Through the CVLP, people with cancer who are receiving treatment in the NHS in England can be assessed to see if they might be eligible to join a cancer vaccine clinical trial, and then referred to a hospital that is running a trial.

This collaboration, initially with pharmaceutical company BioNTech, is a significant step towards realising the potential of these personalised vaccines in cancer treatment, in the hope of transforming patient outcomes in the future.

Over time, the CVLP will enable patients to access multiple trials running in different NHS trusts in other parts of the country, increasing access in an equitable way.

Utilising the unique benefits of the NHS as an innovation partner, the collaboration aims to provide up to 10,000 patients with personalised cancer treatments in the UK by 2030.

It is set up by NHS England and Genomics England and works in parallel with the existing NHS Genomic Medicine Service.

You can find out more about clinical trials on the nhs.uk website.