Asthma UK is campaigning for more investment into asthma research to find out more about its underlying causes and help cure asthma.
Despite decades of pioneering research, asthma often goes undiagnosed or is mistaken for another condition, causing confusion and anxiety for people with asthma and the parents of children with asthma. This would not be good enough in other diseases and is not good enough for asthma. Moreover, we are now understanding of the different types of asthma is increasing.
Faster, earlier and more accurate diagnosis
We call on funders and industry to fund more research into asthma diagnosis and support the development of better tests. More research into diagnostics will allow us to diagnose people with asthma faster, potentially in , and potentially identify which specific type of asthma someone has. With this information, we can develop new drugs that will target the different types of asthma and help us develop ways for people to manage their condition effectively.
A first-of-its-kind event to identify new opportunties
The European Asthma Research and Innovation Partnership (EARIP), coordinated by Asthma UK, set out a roadmap for breakthrough areas in asthma research and reviewed the areas of greatest promise in asthma diagnostics.
In July 2017, to build on the work of EARIP and to identify opportunities for UK research and development in asthma diagnostics, Asthma UK and Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Network brought together over 80 experts from a wide range of backgrounds for a day of presentations, discussions and debates. Attendees included world-class academics, leading small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), major pharmaceutical companies and representatives from UK-wide funding organisations.
The discussions from the day formed the basis of our report, Diagnosing asthma: a 21st century challenge.
Slides and discussion notes from Asthma UK-Knowledge Transfer Network event
Slides:
- Professor Sue Hill, NHS England: The NHS approach to personalised medicine in respiratory disease
- Dr Louise Wood, Department of Health: 21st-century health: Research to support personalised medicine
- Dr Sheuli Porkess, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry: The importance of diagnostics for medicines development
- Dr Duncan Keeley, Primary Care Respiratory Society UK: Asthma diagnosis in primary care and the need for change
Discussion notes:
- Predicting future asthma in preschool children
- Identification and development of new biological markers of asthma as a tool for diagnosis and/or monitoring
- Development of a low-cost, accurate asthma diagnostic test that improves diagnosis in primary care
- Ensuring successful real-world adoption of new diagnostic tools; taking a patient-centric approach to research and development
