GlaxoSmithKline and Regeneron have given their backing to a new project that will use patient data held by the UK Biobank.
The firms will get free access to the samples in return for covering the cost of sequencing it and, after a period of exclusivity, they will then allow the data to be plugged back into the resource for wider use.
The Biobank said the initiative would be the biggest ever genetics study and could usher in a “new era of drug development”.