Flatiron Health steps into the UK through new real-world oncology data partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Signaling a new phase in its global growth strategy, Flatiron announces an alliance with major UK hospital, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, to translate real-world oncology data of people with cancer into research-ready datasets for improving cancer research and care.

On June 20, 2023, leading oncology real-world data (RWD) health tech company Flatiron Health announced a milestone entry into the UK through a new partnership with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust, one of largest acute hospital trusts in Europe. The alliance will curate real-world, unorganized cancer information gathered from electronic health records (EHR) during routine care into aggregated, de-identified patient information datasets for use by researchers to improve cancer treatments and outcomes.

Founded in the US in 2012. Flatiron has set itself the mandate of expanding the evidence base that oncology treatment, development, and regulatory decisions are based upon, through large-scale incorporation of real-world patient experiences, in order to transform how cancer is understood and treated globally.

“We have so much more to learn from real-world patient experiences in order to accelerate research and improve patient outcomes. So, alongside partners, regulators, and patient advocates — and with scalable and secure methods — Flatiron has developed a unique offering in the UK to translate data from routine clinical care into research-ready datasets,” commented Flatiron CEO Carolyn Starrett. “We are excited to work with one of the most innovative and patient-centric medical institutions in the UK to add more patient experiences into the evidence that supports treatment, development, and regulatory decisions. We believe this is the best hope for truly transforming global cancer research and care.”

The announcement of this fresh alliance closely follows Flatiron’s early May announcement of a collaboration with global biopharmaceutical company Sanofi to use the Flatiron Clinical Pipe™ automated capture of RWD from EHR to streamline clinical trials, and the mid-May announcement of Flatiron’s expansion into oncology real-world evidence (RWE) generation with the launch of their Integrated RWE Solutions.

The UK collaboration signals continued international expansion for Flatiron. The company announced its partnership with Japan’s National Cancer Center Hospital East in January 2022. Flatiron International subsidiaries in Japan, Germany and the UK are partnering with hospitals and health networks in RWD collaborations through Flatiron’s local teams and infrastructure. The resultant caliber oncology datasets will be used by Flatiron’s hospital and health network partners in research collaborations and, under license with specific terms and conditions, by biopharma companies, to accelerate cancer research.

“Each Flatiron International partnership is designed to help local healthcare providers and partners generate and utilize high-quality RWD to advance oncology research and care,” explained Nathan Hubbard, Senior Vice President, Flatiron’s Head of Corporate Development and Flatiron International. “Through this groundbreaking new agreement with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which has also been approved by the NHS Health Research Authority — the NHS’ ethics body — we know we’ll be able to illustrate the realization of our mission to bring Flatiron’s real-world data expertise into partnerships with hospitals and health networks in Europe and beyond.”