The Respiratory Transformation Partnership (RTP) brings together NHS England, the Office for Life Sciences, 15 health innovation networks and four leading pharmaceutical companies - AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK and Sanofi.

Dr Zubir Ahmed, health innovation and safety minister, said: ‘This £10m partnership is a concrete example of what our reform agenda looks like in practice - shifting care out of hospitals and into communities, using data to reach patients who have been missed, and working hand in hand with industry to get the best treatments to the people who need them most.'

Respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death in the UK, contributing to more than 700,000 hospital admissions and around 6m inpatient bed days each year - the vast majority of them unplanned.  

The partnership will use data and digital tools to: identify patients who would benefit from more targeted treatments; expand access to biologic medicines; and ensure community and primary care teams can support patients closer to home.

The programme is chaired by Jonathan Fuld, national clinical director for respiratory disease, and is being co-ordinated by Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley on behalf of the Health Innovation Network.