Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad nominated for national award with NHS England and industry partners

A team from the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit has been nominated for a national award for its work on a ground-breaking programme to bring innovative cancer vaccine trials to more patients.

The NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad is shortlisted in the Further, Faster, Together award for industry-academia collaboration at the Cancer Research Horizons Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards 2025.

The award celebrates the advances in oncology and successful innovation through partnerships which demonstrate collaboration between academics, such as the researchers at the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, and commercial industry partners.

The Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) is an example of how these partnerships are successfully formed and developed, bringing together our researchers, NHS England and biotech companies who are developing new cancer vaccines ready for evaluation in clinical trials.

The CVLP is able to match eligible cancer patients to studies that are developing vaccines against different cancers at their nearest participating hospital.

Cancer vaccines work by helping the immune system to recognise, attack and ‘remember’ cancer cells, to try and prevent the disease returning.

So far, the CVLP has partnered with BioNTech for a trial of a personalised vaccine for colorectal cancer, which is created by analysing a patient's tumour and using that information to create a vaccine tailored to that patient. That trial has now finished recruitment through the CVLP.

In May, a second trial for patients with melanoma was launched on the CVLP with Oxford-based company Scancell, giving patients access to a new ‘fixed’ vaccine, where each patient receives the same vaccine.

And talks are ongoing with other partners to bring more trials into the platform.

The CVLP team will join all shortlisted nominees at the awards ceremony in July, where the winners will be announced.