2018–2019. Linking data from NHS hospital outpatient records and GP to the main dataset were being investigated in 2018. Linkages to disease-specific registries and screening programs were also being investigated in 2018. Exome sequencing is underway with the first batch of 50,000 sequences due to be released in mid-2019. Full genome sequencing was being investigated with a pilot project underway. Opinion The project has been generally praised for its ambitious scope and unique potential. A scientific review panel concluded, the "UK Biobank has the potential, in ways that are not currently available elsewhere, to support a wide range of research". Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the MRC, predicted it "will provide scientists with extraordinary information" and "grow into a unique resource for future generations." There was some early criticism, however. GeneWatch UK, a pressure group that claims to promote the responsible use of genetic information, asserted that the complexity of the programme could result in the finding of "false links between genes and disease", and expressed concern that the genetic information from patients could be patented for commercial purposes. Biobank's chief executive described such a risk as "extremely low, if it exists at all." The method of recruiting participants was also initially controversial. Participants were sent letters of invitation based on names, addresses, and dates of birth provided by the NHS to the UK Biobank organisers. Although compliant with UK data protection law, some people objected to the NHS passing on such data to third parties without explicit consent, and also had concerns about the data security in such a large project. Some literature has raised concerns that the UK Biobank is not representative of the diversity of the UK population or is not applicable to diverse populations. Funding The UK Biobank is funded by the UK Department of Health, the Medical Research Council, the Scottish Executive, and the Wellcome Trust medical research charity. The cost of the initial participant recruitment and assessment phase was 62 million GBP. Related projects EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) is a similar study that was started in 1992 and involves 520,000 men and women mostly between 35 and 70 years old from ten European countries. Participants are recontacted every three to five years. It is specifically designed to study the respective roles of diet and genes in the development of cancer. In 1996, Icelandic neurologist Kári Stefánsson founded a private company