Cegedim announces a forward-looking partnership with Gustave Roussy to mark the 30th anniversary of its European real-world database, THIN®

Cegedim announces a forward-looking partnership with Gustave Roussy to mark the 30th anniversary of its European real-world database, THIN®

Paris, June 1, 2023 – As part of this new partnership, Cegedim, an innovative technology and services group which specializes in digital data flow management for healthcare ecosystems, will give Gustave Roussy, Europe’s leading cancer center, access to its anonymized patient database—THIN^® (The Health Improvement Network). THIN^® is one of Europe’s largest health databases, with the anonymized electronic health records of 69 million patients collected from general practitioners and specialists in seven European countries.

An innovative approach to support the fight against cancer

This partnership aims to train Gustave Roussy’s algorithms using THIN^®’s anonymized medical data collected in France and Europe by private practitioners with medical software.

Gustave Roussy will be able to explore THIN^®‘s anonymized data for over 69 million patients in Europe (patient characteristics, clinical outcomes, and medical history going back 5+ years per patient on average) to identify factors linked with the occurrence of cancers and develop or confirm hypotheses for prevention or treatment.

The approach is original because it supplements the methods Gustave Roussy already routinely uses in its genetic analyses to identify genes of interest among thousands of others.

Jean-Claude Labrune, Chairman of Cegedim, declared: “THIN^® provides access to accurate, ethical, actionable, anonymized, longitudinal patient data from a database whose objective is still the same 30 years on, namely, to foster and support medical progress. This partnership is a huge acknowledgement for all the private practitioners in France and Europe who help create this treasure trove, which is unique in the international scientific community.”

Dr. Suzette Delaloge, Director of the Interception program at Gustave Roussy, pointed out: “This partnership should enable us to develop new algorithms which will help identify people at high risk of developing cancers in general practice, so together we can move towards widespread personalized cancer prevention within a few years.”

THIN^®, a powerful and accurate European database that has been supporting research for 30 years

THIN^® Observatory’s goal is to collect anonymous patient data for use in research on medical practices and the prescription of drugs and treatment.

The THIN^® real-word database was started in 1993 with the recruitment of doctors in France and the United Kingdom alongside the rapid expansion of health informatics.

THIN^® anonymized longitudinal data currently covers over 69 million patients in seven European countries (United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Romania).

The THIN^® database is built on a common data model and is available in OMOP format (EHDEN certification), which means artificial intelligence can easily compare and use the information collected.

The THIN^® database is approved for use by academic institutions and health authorities in Europe (EMA / ENCePP), the United Kingdom (NHS & NICE) and France (HAS, CEPS & ANSM), and is cited in nearly 2,000 scientific publications.

Prof. Giampiero Mazzaglia, Associate Professor of Public Health, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan – Bicocca, Italy, observed: “A great collaborative effort with Cegedim’s teams enabled the publication of a scientific paper on an overlooked and neglected disease like essential tremor! Once again, The Health Improvement Network database proved to be a reliable tool for improving knowledge and nurturing epidemiological and clinical research”.

Dr. Anoop D. Shah, Associate Professor, UCL Institute of Health Informatics, University College London – United Kingdom, explained: “We used Cegedim’s THIN® database to carry out a detailed population-based analysis of the symptoms of Long Covid. By using the unstructured text typed by general practitioners (free text) as well as the coded information in THIN®, we were able to obtain a richer insight into patient symptoms and the pathway to a Long Covid diagnosis”.

Prof. Gaëtan Deslee, MD PHD, Pulmonology Department, University Hospital of Reims – France, added: “We used the THIN® database to conduct a study in collaboration with Cegedim’s team, to analyze the use and persistence of inhaled triple therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This database provides reliable data from both general practitioners and specialists allowing a better understanding of the use and persistence of treatments in a real-life context”.

About THIN^®: THIN® (The Health Improvement Network) is a large European database of anonymized Electronic Health Records collected at the physicians’ level, owned by Cegedim Group. THIN® anonymized longitudinal patient data currently covers large populations of over 69 million patients across several European countries (the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Romania), available to all healthcare stakeholders, including academic researchers who have authored many publications. It contributes to advancements in patient care and outcomes in the interests of public health, by assisting leading healthcare authorities, academics and research centers with healthcare research and analysis.
To learn more, please visit: https://www.the-health-improvement-network.com/

About Cegedim:
Founded in 1969, Cegedim is an innovative technology and services group in the field of digital data flow management for healthcare ecosystems and B2B, and a business software publisher for healthcare and insurance professionals. Cegedim employs more than 6,000 people in more than 10 countries and generated revenue of €555 million in 2022.
Cegedim SA is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: CGM). To learn more, please visit: www.cegedim.com

And follow Cegedim on Twitter: @CegedimGroup, LinkedIn and Facebook.

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