£35m blood disorder project aims for faster, better patient care Published on: 9 January 2017 A new project involving Âé¶¹´«Ã½ experts aims to create better outcomes for patients with blood disorders. The £35 million scheme, involving scientists from the , will pull together anonymous patient data to unlock valuable knowledge of life-threatening blood disorders. Consisting of 51 partners from 11 European countries, the HARMONY project will focus on multiple myeloma, acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes and blood disorders in infants, children and adults. The project will build on pre-existing, long-lasting collaborations between academics, clinicians, patient organisations and the pharmaceutical industry. Faster care for patients The research will further advance management of blood disorder diseases through a more efficient process of treatment development and rapid decision-making. The expected outcome of the European collaboration will be better prognosis and quicker improved treatment decisions for patients. , professor of genetic epidemiology at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Âé¶¹´«Ã½, is leading the childhood leukaemia part of the project. He said: “The key aims of HARMONY are to create a framework for data sharing and promote an ethos of collaboration across the full spectrum of blood cancers. “The fact that the scope of the project is broad and encompasses all blood cancers will help clinical research, something that would simply not be possible with the way things currently work. “The main objectives of this project are to improve patient management and outcome by generating high-quality datasets, which can use sophisticated analytical methods to identify new treatment options.” Bringing experts together The project brings together key players in the clinical, academic, patient, Health Technology Assessment, regulatory, economical, ethical and pharmaceutical fields. HARMONY will develop a data sharing platform that comprises of different layers of information, empowering experts to improve decision-making by providing a means for analysing complex data and identifying specific markers for effective therapies. The five-year project will start this month (January, 2017) and is funded through the Innovative Medicines Initiative, Europe's largest public-private initiative that aims to speed up the development of better and safer medicines for patients. Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at Âé¶¹´«Ã½ warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from Âé¶¹´«Ã½ to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures