GenesisCare and Omico join forces in precision oncology as Australia sets national genomics agenda

GenesisCare and Omico are teaming up to bring precision oncology to more patients facing incurable, advanced or poor prognosis cancers. This coincides with the release of the new National Health Genomics Policy Framework and Implementation Plan 2026–2030.

The collaboration between not-for-profit Omico and GenesisCare’s cancer care network of 50 locations focuses on Omico’s Cancer Screening Program (CaSP), which provides eligible patients with comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) and matching to biomarker-led treatments and trials at no cost. The partnership aims to support routine access to CaSP for eligible GenesisCare patients and increased coordination around clinical trial opportunities. For some patients, this can uncover treatment options that may not otherwise have been identified, with the potential to extend lives.

GenesisCare Medical Oncologist Tony Michele said, “GenesisCare is pleased to work with Omico more closely, as we prepare to extend the promise of genomic profiling to more patients facing challenging cancers. We want to increase access to genomic profiling and biomarker-matched clinical trials, while accelerating our knowledge of genomic cancer medicine for the benefit of future patients. We hope that, over time, this approach will become routinely available for all patients who can benefit, delivering better outcomes and less side effects for patients.”

Omico CEO Ian Black commented, “Partnerships across the health system are essential to improving outcomes for people with cancer. By working together, Omico and GenesisCare can combine our complementary expertise, networks and capabilities to reach more people and contribute to a stronger, more connected approach to precision oncology in Australia.”

The collaboration will include a coordinated approach to identify and refer eligible patients at GenesisCare sites to CaSP. Following referral from their GenesisCare oncologist, patients who opt-in to CaSP can access CGP and will receive recommendations for potential biomarker-led treatment and clinical trial opportunities with eight weeks. Their participation also contributes to Omico’s observational cohort study, Research Registry and Biobank, building valuable resources to support future cancer research and advances in care.

Precision oncology is clinically mature, with genomics increasingly integral to diagnosis and treatment. The challenge is no longer clinical utility, but navigating fragmented funding, including the MBS, and achieving the scale and coordination needed for consistent national access. To improve the transition of genomics from research to clinical service delivery, Genomics Australia was established within the Department of Health on 1 July 2025.

Australia’s HTA framework was built for relatively linear decisions: assess a test, link it to a defined clinical intervention, and determine its value. Genomics is fundamentally more complex. One genomic analysis can simultaneously inform diagnosis, reveal several clinically significant variants, guide different treatment pathways, prevent ineffective therapy and identify opportunities for clinical trial participation.

The government now has a national genomics framework, with the Health Chief Executives Forum (HCEF) overseeing the delivery of it. What remains curious over the five years is whether policymakers are willing to move beyond more consultations and mapping, and allocate the necessary funding and resources to meaningfully improve equitable access to genomics in routine practice.

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