UK Biobank has launched a huge study of the proteins in the human body which could transform the study of diseases and their treatments, backed by a group of leading biopharma companies.
The project plans to measure up to 5,400 proteins across 600,000 samples, made up of samples taken from half a million UK Biobank participants and 100,000 second samples taken from volunteers up to 15 years later. This will allow researchers to use the database to investigate how changes to an individual’s protein levels through mid-to-late life can influence disease. The study will begin by analysing 300,000 samples, made up of 250,000 initial samples from Biobank volunteers plus another 50,000 second samples taken later.
The UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project is being funded by a consortium of 14 biopharmaceutical companies who will fund the analysis of the first 300,000 samples. The companies include Alden Scientific, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Calico Life Sciences, Roche, GSK, Isomorphic Labs, Johnson & Johnson, MSD, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Regeneron and Takeda. Before the data is made available to UK Biobank-approved researchers, members of the industry consortium will have a nine month period of exclusive access. UK Biobank is seeking additional funding to analyse the second wave of 300,000 samples.
Human bodies contain an enormous number of different proteins with estimates ranging from tens of thousands to billions; proteomics looks at proteins on a large scale, analysing thousands of them at the same time. Measuring the levels of proteins circulating in the blood enables researchers to investigate their potential role in many types of diseases that occur during mid and later life. This emerging research field – population proteomics – has huge potential for diagnostics and therapeutics.
While genes are mostly fixed at conception the proteome can vary depending on our environment, lifestyle and health. Analysing this data will therefore be particularly valuable for understanding conditions that are only partially determined by our genetic background, UK Biobank said, with these potentially including Alzheimer’s disease, chronic kidney disease, mental health conditions, cardiovascular diseases, lupus and other autoimmune disorders.
In October 2023, a pilot project released data on nearly 3,000 circulating proteins from 54,000 UK Biobank participants, with studies using the data leading to advances in disease prediction and developing future targeted treatments for breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain illnesses, UK Biobank said.
Adding the proteomics dataset will allow researchers to combine this new information with the whole genome sequencing of its half a million participants which UK Biobank published in November 2023, potentially driving the development of personalised treatments. And because of the follow-up samples taken researchers will be able to measure how protein levels have changed over mid-to-late life. Nearly 100,000 UK Biobank participants have undergone magnetic resonance imaging of their brain, heart and body which provides another overlay of data.
"Proteomics provides an incredibly detailed snapshot of health. This new frontier of science can unveil how genetics and external factors – like diet, exercise and climate – interact, and will help to pinpoint the key causes of diseases and identify drug targets,” said Professor Naomi Allen, Chief Scientist at UK Biobank.
It will take about a year to measure the protein levels in 300,000 participant samples; the proteomic data will be made available to approved researchers in staggered releases from 2026, with the full dataset expected by 2027.
"UK Biobank’s proteomic dataset has the potential to enable more powerful biomarker discovery, more accurate disease prediction, and more successful drug development,” said Dr Chris Whelan, Director, Neuroscience, Data Science & Digital Health, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine and Pharma Proteomics Project Lead. “This will represent one of the world’s largest ever biopharmaceutical research collaborations, underlining the growing importance of proteomics as a drug discovery tool.
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