eHealth SaaS company Respiri Limited (ASX:RSH), has reached an agreement to partner with the University of Edinburgh in a new data research centre to help improve the lives of people living with respiratory conditions.
Known as BREATHE – Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health is led by the University of Edinburgh’s Professor Aziz Sheikh, a primary care academic and epidemiologist with substantial research interests in asthma/allergy and in leveraging the potential of health information technology and data science to transform the delivery of care and improve population health.
Professor Sheikh is a director of the Usher Institute, the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research (AUKCAR), the Scottish Allergy and Respiratory Academy (SARA), the NIHR Global Respiratory Health Unit (RESPIRE) and is Co-Director of the National Health Service (NHS) Digital Academy.
Respiri CEO and Managing Director, Marjan Mikel, said the centre will use data, such as that collected by the wheezo ecosystem, for the development of innovations in the delivery of care for people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and respiratory infections.
BREATHE is one of seven new hubs led by Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and part of a four-year £37 million investment from the Government Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) led by UK Research and Innovation.
Mr Mikel said Respiri will work with BREATHE to expand its patient experience program to the UK, as Respiri prepares to enter the European market in 2021, after the company’s Australian commercial launch in the fourth quarter of 2020.
wheezo brings cutting edge innovation in monitoring of respiratory disease and this is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate how the platform is beneficial to patients, the industry and the NHS,” Mr Mikel said.
“The timing is perfect for Respiri as we now have CE mark, clearing wheezo for our European commercial launch in 2021. Our partner, Professor Sheikh and his team at the hub intend to be at the forefront of digitally-enabled respiratory health, and we are honoured to be a part of it.”
The University of Edinburgh’s partners at BREATHE are: Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Swansea University, University of Leicester, Queen Mary University of London, Kings College London, Asthma UK, British Lung Foundation, NHS Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Group (on behalf of One London LHCRE), Greater London Authority, Respiri Ltd, StormID, Tiny Medical Apps, Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK, BreatheOx, GE Healthcare Finnamore Partners and Optimum Patient Care.