BREATHE is trying to help more people breathe a little easier, and the health data research hub got one step closer to that goal this week under a collaboration with IQVIA.
The organization is partnering with the clinical research services provider to speed up the early diagnosis and treatment of respiratory conditions in the UK. The goal of the initiative is to put respiratory diseases at the forefront of joint programs using IQVIA's health data, genomic capabilities and care pathway analytics.
"We are very excited to be working with BREATHE to catalyze the power of the UK’s uniquely rich health data to bring about step-change improvements in diagnosis and treatment of respiratory conditions and to attract more research that will accelerate the discovery of innovative medicines and the optimal use of existing NICE-approved treatments," said Angela McFarlane, IQVIA senior market development director, in a statement.
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The effort also aims to boost the U.K.'s presence in the health data-enabled research space and attract more Big Pharma and biotech investment.
The program wants to ease the burden on the taxpayer-funded NHS, as well. Respiratory diseases are the third biggest cause of death in England, and have an economic toll reaching in the billions, the organizations said.
Improving the accuracy of diagnosis, increasing the availability of personalized treatments and ramping up quicker referrals to specialist care are all part of the collaboration's expected outcomes.
BREATHE hopes its work with partners and patients using non-identified health data can spur research and innovation.
Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer are some of the respiratory diseases targeted by the initiative. There's also potential to create treatment options for the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically so-called long COVID, by identifying patients early and collecting data, the organizations said.