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One goal already connected 90 stakeholders from 22 countries: to speed up the development of new treatments for patients with Hematologic Malignancies. Our community expect that key research questions can be answered using Big Data analyses, that is by linking together data sets from different sources.
Extracting knowledge from dispersed data bricks is possible thanks to the HARMONY Big Data Platform – a secure repository for data donated by the HARMONY Partners and Associated Members. Having such enormous data sets available, data engineers can involve Artificial Intelligence technologies and Machine Learning to tackle the challenges in blood cancer research. The enthusiasm for using Big Data for medical research purposes is well-founded. Algorithms study massive sets of information and – by binding together seemingly unrelated facts – shed new light on complex problems in medicine. Then, the scientists can introduce new interventions: it might be novel treatment, more efficient diagnostic method, better patient outcomes, better care. Every improvement for patients is worth the effort.
The HARMONY Big Data Platform is a big step forward in many aspects. The first challenge was to make the data from their registers available for secondary use. It requires mutual trust and close cooperation. So much valuable data is closed in the silos around the world. For example, when research studies end, sometimes obtained for years data is stored in databases and remain there useless. It’s a significant loss for science. For projects like HARMONY, every little data point is precious, increasing the chance to build up a big picture of the illness. In a result, researchers can see new details that were before unrecognisable.
Building up data laboratory, like the HARMONY Big Data Platform, needs not only a vision and courage but also technical perfectionism. The data flowing to the repository has different formats and contents. In the first step, the data must be anonymised and harmonised so it can be combined smoothly. A process exclusively developed by HARMONY. Data privacy, data security and following the current legislative frameworks are the highest priorities.
We have already the right tools to make use of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in medicine. What we aim to change the mindset. Technologies are developing rapidly, so the new opportunities for medicine are emerging. Blood cancers account for about one-third of cancer deaths. Science has to look for answers in every possible way. It is also a responsibility of all in healthcare to act together and think out of the box, to be innovative. So are all the stakeholders that already have joined the HARMONY Alliance. It’s not only about sharing data for scientific purposes; it’s about creative cooperation, knowledge and experience exchange to help patients. Without collaboration, technology itself wouldn’t help.
Public-private partnership for Big Data in Hematology
HARMONY and HARMONY PLUS are funded through the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), Europe's largest public-private initiative aiming to speed up the development of better and safer medicines for patients. Funding is received from the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking and is listed under grant agreement for HARMONY No. 116026 and grant agreement for HARMONY PLUS No. 945406. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
HARMONY Coordination Office
Institute of Biomedical Research of
Salamanca (IBSAL)
Salamanca, Spain
HARMONY Communications
European Hematology Association (EHA)
The Hague, The Netherlands
