Government Launches £200m Programme to Use NHS Data in Research
The Government has announced a new £200m programme to enable NHS health data to be used in diagnostics and treatment research.
This will be through Trusted Research Environments and digital clinical trial services. This will make data more securely and quickly available for research, while offering "the highest levels of privacy".
The funding is part of the Government's commitment to deliver the Life Sciences Vision published last year, including to harness NHS data to drive health research and innovation. This builds on pioneering work during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the RECOVERY trial - which made use of NHS data through NHS DigiTrials and led to the discovery that Dexamethasone, a cheap steroid, could save one third of the lives of COVID-19 patients in intensive care - thus saving at least one million lives worldwide.
By making it quicker and easier to set up and run clinical trials, this will help the UK in being at the forefront of research in life sciences.
Dr Ben Goldacre, Director of the DataLab, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, commented: "This funding announced today will drive forward the longstanding ambition to broaden access to NHS data while preserving patient privacy, by building secure Trusted Research Environments that support modern, transparent, efficient approaches to data analysis."
Sajid Javid, the Health and Social Care Secretary, said: "NHS data is making the whole world safer and healthier and has been vital in saving thousands of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding will ensure the UK can continue to help researchers access NHS data securely so patients can benefit from more innovative treatments faster. I’m absolutely committed to boosting the UK’s position as a world-leading research centre, transforming our health service and ensuring the NHS continues to deliver excellent care for patients."
2022 PING Conference
The Life Sciences Vision had ambitious plans to put the UK at the forefront of further opportunities in life sciences, including using the unique NHS for innovation. The 2021 PING Conference, which VWV held in collaboration with IQVIA, was entitled 'UK Life Sciences Opportunities in a Changed World'. That Conference heard many ways in which the UK was taking a lead following the response to COVID-19 including through use of its assets to enhance innovation.
Taking place on 20 June, the 2022 PING Conference - The Golden Age for Life Sciences Innovation - we will hear from George Freeman, the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, amongst others on how the UK is uniquely positioned to adopt innovations in this golden age for life sciences.