Target acquired: Merck and Omico set sights on fast-tracking precision cancer trials

Josie Downey, Managing Director of Merck Healthcare ANZ, and Professor David Thomas, Chief Science and Strategy Officer at Omico, unpack the promise behind their new partnership – a collaboration set to supercharge access to precision oncology in Australia.

In this Health Industry Hub vodcast, the two leaders pull back the curtain on what’s fuelling Australia’s $1.6 billion clinical trials engine, and what still holds it back. Patients with advanced or rare cancers are too often left behind. Professor Thomas doesn’t sugarcoat the reality: the barriers are real, the stakes are high, and time isn’t a luxury these patients have.

The duo dissect how their new partnership aims to break through bureaucratic inertia, translating the promise of precision oncology into practical care that reaches more Australians, faster.

From the renewed momentum behind government-backed initiatives like PrOSPeCT to the cutting-edge learnings emerging from the Molecular Screening and Therapeutics (MoST) study, Professor Thomas paints a picture of a system on the brink of transformation. Reflecting on his NSW Premier’s Award for Outstanding Cancer Research, he warns that without embedding precision medicine into standard care, Australia risks falling behind a wave of global innovation.

Looking ahead, Downey pinpoints the trends that could redefine the landscape of precision oncology over the next five years. For Professor Thomas, the excitement lies in the acceleration of immunotherapies, the rise of antibody-drug conjugates, and the game-changing potential of early cancer detection – where science isn’t just challenging convention, but reshaping the entire arc of the patient journey.

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