International technology, management and systems consultancy, PA Consulting Group, has entered into an agreement with Cambridge-based experimental medicine consultancy, 4D Biomedical, to drive both clinical and value-based improvements to health services.

 

Experimental medicine – also known as translational medicine – is currently a high topic on the Government’s agenda, enabling the biopharmaceutical industry to input clinical insight much earlier and more productively in the discovery and invention of new medical interventions.

 

“Unlocking the full value of these hubs by bringing in industry partners requires major investment in health informatics and research infrastructure and will drive complex, but important new models of care, reimbursement, organisational and regulatory change”

This collaboration will unlock the value of the UK’s patient data reservoir and clinical science infrastructure and address the growing time, cost and failure rate of pharmaceutical research and development. It is expected to help accelerate the development of the structures, strategies and multi-disciplinary translational research hubs through which industry partners can improve their understanding of disease progression in patients, facilitated by informatics and new technologies such as imaging, micro-dosing and pharmacogenomics.

 

Ian Rhodes, a member of PA’s management group responsible for technology and health, told HES: “We are delighted to be entering into this ground-breaking collaboration. By combining our track record in large-scale health informatics, technology convergence, procurement and systems development with 4D’s specialist experience of building experimental medicine collaborations between hospitals, universities and industry partners, we can make a real difference to unlocking value for the UK health sector and in delivering major benefits in the form of improved health and reduced costs.”

 

George Freeman, chief executive of 4D, added: “We have worked over the last four years with a number of leading UK hospitals and universities to create new experimental medicine partnerships in a range of therapeutic areas. Unlocking the full value of these hubs by bringing in industry partners requires major investment in health informatics and research infrastructure and will drive complex, but important new models of care, reimbursement, organisational and regulatory change, which PA has extensive experience and expertise in. Partnering in this way gives us the ability to offer clients the mix of innovation and professional technology development which this field needs.”

 

The partnership’s first joint activity was a foresighting dinner in Cambridge in January, at which 40 UK opinion-formers in the field joined the two organisations to discuss the respective roles of industry, government, universities and the NHS in unlocking the value of this fast-emerging field.