Written by James Orme Wed 31 Jul 2019

UK clinical healthcare disruptor signs first major drug development deal since IPO

Sensyne Health has struck a two year deal with pharmaceutical giant Bayer to develop new treatments for cardiovascular disease using Sensyne’s AI technology.

The NHS Long Term Plan has identified the prevention of cardiovascular disease, which currently affects 7 million people in the UK and accounts for 1 in 4 premature deaths, as one of its primary goals over the next ten years.

Under the two-year deal, Bayer will pay Sensyne £5 million to collaborate using the company’s proprietary software.

“Real world evidence from Sensyne Health’s Clinical AI analysis of anonymised patient data has the potential to generate new insights that could improve patient outcomes, support clinical staff and accelerate the discovery and development of new medicines to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease including heart failure and stroke,” Sensyne Health said in a statement.

Oxford-based Sensyne Health has developed a proprietary platform that uses AI to analyse anonymised patient data and generate clinical insights, which the company uses to develop a variety of healthcare solutions, including apps, advice and medicines.

The company has signed partnerships with six NHS trusts to develop new healthcare products. As part of the deals, the trusts have been given shares in Sensyne Health in return for providing anonymised patient data and are entitled to 4 percent of future royalties from any products developed.

Per these arrangements, Sensyne Health’s trust partners will receive a 4 percent share of all revenues the company generates under this new collaboration.

Sensyne Health is one of a number of companies mining NHS data using AI, alongside DeepMind, Google, and Babylon Health. The company says the data it has access too is always anonymous and under ‘strict ethical control’,in accordance with NHS principles, GDPR and national regulations. However, recent research has cast doubt on the effectiveness of common data anonymisation techniques.

Lord (Paul) Drayson PhD, CEO of Sensyne Health plc, said: “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.”