GSK, UK DRI, HDR UK to collaborate on dementia research initiative

GSK (GSK) plc announced a new research collaboration with the UK Dementia Research Institute and Health Data Research UK to advance understanding of neurodegeneration with a first-of-its-kind dementia study. The project aims to use the UK’s health data ecosystem to explore a potential association between GSK’s shingles vaccine, Recombinant Zoster Vaccine, and a reduced risk of dementia. If successful, this could serve as a blueprint for population level health data research models, reinforcing the UK’s position as a leading destination for scientific research, GSK said in a statement. Data from several retrospective observational studies show potential association between shingles vaccination, including with RZV, and a reduced risk of dementia. However, the retrospective and observational nature of these studies means they are susceptible to unmeasured confounding factors and determining causal association has not been possible. The new research collaboration aims to overcome this by using high quality, deidentified, population-level electronic health data from the UK’s National Health Service to assess the impact of RZV vaccination on dementia risk reduction. There are around 1.4 million 65 and 66 years olds in the UK7 and their eligible electronic health records are expected to give a robust and comprehensive dataset which will account for factors such as RZV vaccination, age, sex and co-existing medical conditions. The research will take 4 years to complete.