Launching Australia’s first Industry-Led Genomics Alliance to Unlock the Power of Precision Medicine

10 November 2020

The Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) has been awarded $300,000 in funding from MTPConnect’s Industry Growth Centre Project Fund Program to establish the Industry Genomics Network Alliance (InGeNA).

The new Alliance 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.

With the Australasian Institute of Digital Health as consortium lead, the 13 founding member companies bring matched funds and represent a ‘who’s who’ of the genomics and precision medicine industry:

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

MTPConnect Managing Director and CEO, Dr Dan Grant, says the global genomics market could generate USD$41 billion by 2025^[1] and InGeNA will develop an industry value proposition for the Australian economy as part of the project’s scope.

“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,” Dr Grant said.

“Genomics and its potential to deliver personalised care to a patient is a powerful and transformative development that is reshaping medical science and healthcare and we’re working to ensure Australia is a key player these exciting global developments.

“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,” he said.

InGeNA’s proposed program of activities includes:

• Quantifying the benefits of genomics to the public, including health, societal, productivity
• Identifying access pathways to funding genomics testing and treatment
• A health economic hypothesis for long-term cost / benefit for whole genome sequencing versus targeted panels
• Industry perspective on (dynamic) consent

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

“InGeNA will create a combined and compelling voice representing Industry’s perspective across the genomics value chain to inform and develop genomics policy and work collaboratively with research, government and service providers across the genomics and health sectors.

“Working together, we can build the new workforce skills and capabilities required to successfully compete at a global level in the genomics area, delivering benefits to patients and helping to grow the Australian economy,” she said.

The MTPConnect funding is matched by industry contributions.

In June 2019, MTPConnect released the ‘Precision Medicine Roundtable White Paper’ which canvassed the key issues, connected stakeholders and stimulated discussion around how best to integrate genomics and precision medicine into the many sectors of the Australian healthcare system. The report recommended cross-sectoral alignment around how different precision medicine technologies are implemented, and the formation of InGeNA is a step towards this goal. This report is available from the MTPConnect website.

Visit the InGeNA website for more information.

[1] Zion Market Research: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/04/10/1801776/0/en/Global-Genomics-Market-Will-Reach-USD-41-2-Billion-By-2025-Zion-Market-Research.html