Bayer is to work with health tech and AI specialist Sensyne Health to tap into anonymised real world data, in order to produce new insights into cardiovascular medicine development.
An initial two-year collaboration will focus on accelerating the clinical development of new cardiovascular treatments, and will rely on Sensyne Health’s access to anonymised NHS patient records and its proprietary clinical AI technology platform.
Sensyne Health says the deal will generate revenues of £5mn over two years, and its partner NHS trusts will receive a 4% share of revenues from the collaboration.
The Oxford-based Sensyne is led by former UK science minister Lord Paul Drayson, and among its shareholders are three NHS trusts. It also has financial backing from Woodford Investment Management and Landsdowne Partners.
Lord Paul Drayson, CEO, Sensyne Health
“We are delighted to announce this new agreement with Bayer, which aims to accelerate the clinical development of new treatments for cardiovascular disease, a clinical priority for the NHS, using Sensyne Health’s proprietary clinical AI technology platform,” said Drayson.
The AI tech company cited the NHS Long Term Plan, saying the collaboration supports the plan’s goal of making cardiovascular disease a clinical priority. The disease affects 7 million people in the UK and is the cause of one in four premature deaths.
Sensyne has agreements with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation trust.
These three trusts collectively handle more than half a million hospital admissions per year, and by using software developed by Sensyne, they also generate a wealth of insightful data which can be used in the development of new treatments, in particular for cardiovascular disease.
The company says it works within an “ethical framework and business model” which sees the NHS remains in control of patient data, and no data is sold or transferred to a third party. It says it acts as a ‘docking station’ for the analysis of anonymised patient data on behalf of commercial partners under strict ethical control.
Bayer has two cardiovascular disease candidates in its late-stage pipeline: neladenoson bialanate and vericiguat, both being developed for heart failure.
