A four-year project with an investment of £ 300 million in genome research that promises to transform the way cancer and other rare genetic diseases will be diagnosed and treated was announced by the Prime Minister David Cameron on August 1.
The Genomes Project aims to sequence the genomes of 100,000 NHS patients who suffer from cancer and less known genetic disorders by 2017.
The project is the result of a partnership between Genomics England and the California-based firm Illumina, which will deliver the equipment and infrastructure under a £ 162 million investment plan.
Already, the first few hundred patients have donated DNA samples in pilot projects.
“This agreement will see the UK lead the world in genetic research within years,” Mr. Cameron said in his statement.
“I am determined to do all I can to support the health and scientific sector to unlock the power of DNA, turning an important scientific breakthrough into something that will help deliver better tests, better drugs and above all better care for patients.”
The government claims that the landmark project is on a scale not seen anywhere else in the world.
A new world class genome sequencing hub will come up at the Cambridge Genome Campus of Wellcome Trust, which has agreed to contribute £ 27 million for a new research headquarters for Genomics England.
The hub will be located alongside the acclaimed Sanger Institute.
NHS England has started the process of selecting the first NHS Genomics Medicine Centres, the press release says. NHS England has agreed to underwrite an NHS contribution of up to £20 million over the life of the project.
Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, is quoted as saying said: “Understanding humanity’s genetic code is not only going to be fundamental to the medicine of the future. It is an essential part of medicine today. In rare congenital diseases, in cancer and in infections, genomic insights are already transforming diagnosis and treatment.”
Genomics England is a wholly owned by the Department of Health.
