The UK will create the world’s first real-time early warning system to monitor the threat of future pandemics, prevent disease and protect the public.
The creation of the early warning systems will form a new partnership between the government, Genomics England, UK Biobank, NHS England and Oxford Nanopore – a UK-headquartered, world-leading life sciences company.
Oxford Nanopore uses long-read sequencing technology to analyse genes and pathogens and rapidly diagnose various cancers, rare diseases, and infectious diseases.
In infectious diseases, Oxford Nanopore’s sequencing technology will help create an early warning system for future pandemics and potential biological threats, preventing disease and protecting the public.
Preventing outbreaks of infectious diseases
The early warning system will be used in expanding NHS England’s Respiratory Metagenomics programme, which is led by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
It uses samples from patients with severe respiratory infections and rapid genetic testing to match those patients with the right treatments within six hours.
This novel and world-leading application, developed in partnership with the NHS, will allow potential outbreaks of bacterial or viral diseases to be monitored alongside antimicrobial resistance across the country.
Following an initial successful pilot at St Thomas’ Hospital, the early warning system will now be rolled out from ten to up to 30 NHS sites to address the current time lag between new pathogens emerging in the UK and action being taken to treat affected patients and prevent their spread.
Welcome support for a revolutionary early warning system
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “If we fail to prepare, we should prepare to fail. Our NHS was already on its knees when the pandemic struck, and it was hit harder than any other comparable healthcare system.
“That’s why this historic partnership with Oxford Nanopore will ensure our world-leading scientists have the latest information on emerging threats at their fingertips.”
Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, added: “Early warning is absolutely crucial in enabling us to respond effectively to any emerging pathogen.
“The UK already has a wealth of expertise in genomic surveillance, and this programme will build on that expertise and enable us to bring our resources and capability to tackle developing threats at greater speed.
“Enhancing the capacity for the NHS to determine new and emerging pathogens causing severe acute respiratory infections will improve the detection and emergence of infections.”
A new digital health service
The data gathered from the early warning system will be provided to the UK Health and Security Agency, allowing quicker detection and action on emerging infectious diseases to be taken.
It will also help kickstart economic growth and support the 10 Year Health Plan’s ambition to shift the health service from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention, helping keep patients out of hospital.
UK Biobank will continue working with Oxford Nanopore and the government to improve the insights from their data and translate these into impact for NHS patients.
Along with the vast benefits to patients, this work will drive economic growth, supporting the expansion of one of our most promising life sciences companies.
The partnership to develop the early warning system comes hot on the heels of the Budget, where the government announced an investment of £40m over five years in a Proof of Concept Fund for spinouts, companies formed based on academic research generated within and owned by a university.
