
Today, the Swedish Ministry of Social Affairs announces that it is granting SEK 49.5 million to Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS) to develop and intensify work in precision diagnostics, childhood cancer, rare diseases and data sharing.
“This extensive investment from the government gives GMS the opportunity to continue its work to ensure that more individuals have access to precision diagnostics and personalized care, treatment and follow-up. The pilot projects are also very important for an equal implementation of precision medicine in Sweden and a joint learning. Moreover, we will have the opportunity to implement precision diagnostics for clinical studies. This is an important piece of the puzzle in Sweden’s efforts and ambition to be an international leader in the transition to precision medicine,” says Richard Rosenquist Brandell, Director of GMS.
The funding will go to four targeted initiatives: a national pilot in precision medicine for children with rare syndromes (SEK 15 million), a pilot on precision diagnostics for clinical studies in cancer (SEK 10 million), the establishment of a precision medicine database in pediatric cancer (SEK 10 million), and increasing opportunities for national and international data sharing of genomics data (SEK 14.5 million).
“Today, not all children with rare disease of birth defects and/or intellectual disabilities are offered whole genome sequencing for refined diagnostics. The continued support from the Ministry of Social Affairs gives us a great opportunity to both provide children with rare syndromes with a diagnosis, to build expertise nationally and participate in international collaborations to provide even more individuals with a diagnosis. This is crucial for care, treatment and support from society and contributes to a better quality of life,” says Ann Nordgren, Professor and Chief Physician at Karolinska University Hospital.
“Sweden is already a leader in collecting data from children with cancer. Today, this information is spread across different databases. This initiative is a first step towards linking large-scale data types such as whole genome sequencing, use of targeted treatments, survival data and digital imaging in a systematic way. We will work in partnership with the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund, the National Genomics Platform, the Swedish Childhood Tumor Biobank and the Swedish Childhood Cancer Registry for a system that makes it possible to follow the development of precision medicine in the field of childhood cancer while paving the way for future AI applications,” says David Gisselsson Nord, co-chair of GMS Childhood cancer, professor at Lund University and Chief Physician at Region Skåne.
Read press release from Ministry of Social Affairs (in Swedish).
Read press release from Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund (in Swedish): Regeringen finansierar BrainChild med 10 miljoner kronor.
Photo: Acko Ankarberg Johansson, Minister for Health, and Ola Mattsson, Secretary General of the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund, present the investment.