Swiss drugmaker Novartis has announced a five-year partnership with the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute (BDI) to study how artificial intelligence (AI) can provide insights into complex diseases.
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The two organisations will utilise technologies such as advanced analytics and AI machine learning to analyse data from anonymous UK patients and Novartis clinical trials.
Initially, Novartis and BDI will focus on gaining insights into multiple sclerosis, dermatology and rheumatology. The project will use advanced AI technology to analyse different types of data and gain greater understanding of the progression of diseases such as psoriasis and MS. It’s hoped that the partnership will help advance the scale and efficiency of clinical research.
“Cutting edge technologies, such as AI machine learning and advanced analytics, are able to identify patterns, in ultra large datasets and across multiple datasets and different types of data, that humans cannot. By increasing our capabilities of spotting patterns and detecting commonalities across different diseases, we expect to predict how patients will respond to new and existing medicines earlier than is currently possible.
“Our alliance with the BDI will make use of anonymised data from approximately 5 million patients from the UK and international partner organisations, together with anonymised data captured from relevant Novartis clinical trials,” a Novartis statement read.
“This partnership with the BDI is aligned with the UK’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy and offers the opportunity to expand our understanding and capabilities in data science at scale. As a leading medicines company driven by data and digital, Novartis expects the collaboration with the BDI to enhance its capabilities in data science and analytics.” said Mark Toms, chief scientific officer, Novartis UK.