A new initiative from the COPD Foundation will accelerate research and stimulate innovation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
COPD360 will enroll 125,000 patients to databases on an integrated research registry composed of the COPD Patient-Powered Research Network and physician registries, according to the foundation.
The initiative is funded by AstraZeneca, which provided $2.5 million to build out the patient research portal and data center and to deploy a comprehensive patient outreach and awareness program to support enrollment.
Upon completion, COPD360 will combine patient-reported outcomes, clinical data, electronic medical records and observational research into one of the largest COPD research networks ever assembled, the Foundation says.
Patients entered into the registry have agreed to share their health information and testimonies on how COPD has impacted their lives.
By building this broad understanding of the disease, the Foundation hopes to uncover new opportunities for academic and industry researchers to identify new treatments that could lead to a cure.
“We all want to see faster progress towards therapeutic treatments and cures for COPD and this collaboration highlights how patients, nonprofits, researchers and pharmaceutical companies can work together to accomplish just that,” said John W. Walsh, COPD Foundation president and co-founder.
