AstraZeneca Joins Genomics Consortium

AstraZeneca has joined a public-private consortium with Genomics England to accelerate the development of new diagnostics and treatments arising from the 100,000 Genomes Project. The GENE Consortium (Genomics Network for Enterprises Consortium) is a partnership between industry, academia, and the National Health Service (NHS) Genomic Medicine Centers, which aims to transform treatment for patients with cancer and rare diseases, providing faster access to the right therapy and personalized healthcare. Under the collaboration, AstraZeneca and other industry partners will each contribute seed funding and scientists to work on the project. Consortium members will have access to information from 5,000 whole genomes collected from the first stage of the 100,000 Genomics Project in full compliance with data protection laws. AstraZeneca will gain insights into the evolving area of genome science with a view to identifying new genes and biomarkers which could lead to the development of innovative diagnostics and treatments.

The 100,000 Genomes Project was launched in 2012 by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron. It aims to sequence a total of 100,000 genomes from patients with a rare disease and their families, and from patients with certain common cancers. It is supported by a £300 million government investment package making it the largest national investment in genome science in the world. ,/p>

Source: AstraZeneca

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