BMS and Roche welcome Australia’s first industry-led Genomics Alliance in precision medicine

Pharma News: The first Industry Genomics Network Alliance (InGeNA) has been established by Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) with $300,000 in funding from MTPConnect’s Industry Growth Centre Project Fund.

The new Alliance includes 13 founding member companies, including Roche and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), and aims to unlock the potential of Australia’s precision medicine sector to improve health outcomes for all Australians and to build a stronger and more diverse industry that can contribute internationally to the global genomics market estimated to reach USD 41.2 billion by 2025.

MTPConnect Managing Director and CEO, Dr Dan Grant, said “This new MTPConnect-supported Alliance is a potential game-changer which will help to integrate genomics and precision medicine further into the Australian healthcare system. There are many opportunities for this new health technology ranging from improving diagnoses and providing more tailored treatments to screening programs, clinical trial recruitment and general healthcare improvement.”

Mr Neil MacGregor, Managing Director of Bristol Myers Squibb Australia, said “We welcome the formation of InGeNA and the development of programs to embed genomics across Australian Healthcare sector so that patients may benefit from precision healthcare.”

Richard Woodfield, Roche Australia Medical Director, said “InGeNA represents an important step in fostering and facilitating the collaboration required to integrate genomics into healthcare in Australia. Genomics is one of the key technologies that will drive the evolution of healthcare by enabling a more personalised approach to treatment. We look forward to participating in the work of the Alliance to accelerate the benefits of personalised healthcare and help ensure that every patient receives the right care, at the right time.”

InGeNA appointed AIDH Fellow and digital health leader David Bunker as the inaugural Chair. David established Queensland Genomics and is currently Executive Director of Brisbane Diamantina Health Partners (BDHP).

“Globally, genomics is expanding at an exponential rate and it is estimated between 100 million and as many as 2 billion – human genomes could be sequenced by 2025,” David Bunker said. “We want Australians to have equity and access to the best that genomics can offer, now and in the future. With industry collaboration through InGeNA, there will be a single voice to have input into strategic planning, governance and funding directions through government, research centres and consumer health.”

AIDH CEO Dr Louise Schaper said “MTPConnect’s support through the Growth Centre Project Fund has been critical to the establishment of the new Alliance.”

With the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) as consortium lead, the 13 founding member companies bring matched funds and represent key contributors of the genomics and precision medicine industry:

• 23 Strands
• AbbVie
• Amgen
• Amicus
• Applied Precision Medicine
• Bristol Myers Squibb
• Illumina
• Janssen
• Qiagen
• Roche
• Sanofi
• Thermo Fisher
• TrakGene