United States-based Gilead Sciences Inc (Nasdaq: GILD) has collaborated with the Renown Institute for Health Innovation.

It was reported on Friday that the collaboration is aimed at collecting and analysing genetic and electronic health data that can improve the understanding of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and potentially inform development of treatment options for the disease. According to the terms of the collaboration and license agreement, Gilead will provide funding to Renown Institute for Health Innovation to sequence and analyse the DNA of 15,000 individuals living with NASH or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and a control cohort of 40,000 individuals in Nevada.

John McHutchison, AO, MD, chief scientific officer and head of Research and Development, Gilead Sciences, said, 'Combining the sequencing of protein coding DNA, with extensive electronic health record data will enable a deep analysis of the roles of genetics and environment in NASH incidence and progression. The analysis of these large datasets in collaboration with Renown IHI could help identify genetic variants that impact the risk of developing NASH and thereby advance the discovery and development of new treatments for this disease.'