Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust has been designated as one of 11 Genomic Medicine Centres across the country, NHS England announced earlier today.
A government scheme implemented by the NHS is setting up Genomics Medicine Centres in 11 English hospitals. The aim of these Centres is to collect DNA samples to be used to help devise more tailored treatments for a wide range of diseases, focusing primarily on cancer and rare genetic diseases.
Overall, the target of the initiative is to collect and decode 100,000 human genomes (complete sets of people’s genes) in three years, allowing doctors a greater understanding of specific conditions. The aim is for this to lead to greater specificity in diagnosis and treatment.
The project has the potential to transform the future of healthcare, by improving how diseases are predicted and prevented, enabling new and more precise diagnostic tests, and allowing personalisation of drugs and other treatments to specific genetic variants within the population.
Anna Schuh, Oxford University Hospital (OUH) Consultant Haematologist and Director for Molecular Diagnostics in the University’s Department of Oncology and Head of the Oxford Molecular Diagnostics Centre, told Cherwell, “We have a long history of genome sequencing in Oxford. This presents us with a great opportunity to be part of a wider programme through Genomics England which is unique in terms of its scale and ambition. We are pleased to receive this designation so that we can continue to contribute to improving clinical outcomes for patients with cancer and rare diseases by innovating diagnostics for precision medicine. This programme will transform NHS diagnostic services and will help train a new generation of diagnosticians and researchers.”
Life Sciences Minister George Freeman added, “Our understanding of genomics is transforming the landscape for disease diagnosis and medicines research. We want to make the UK the best place in the world to design and discover 21st century medicines which is why we have invested in the 100,000 Genomes Project. We also want to ensure NHS patients benefit, which is why we have now selected NHS hospitals to help us sequence genomes on an unprecedented scale and bring better treatments to people with cancers and rare diseases for generations to come”.
The 11 hospitals that have been named as Genomic Medicine Centres have been designated as such following evaluation by NHS England. The evaluation found that these hospitals have a track record of providing excellence in genomic services, and meet the requirements needed to deliver the project.
Around 75,000 people will be involved, including some patients with life threatening and debilitating disease. Recruitment to the project will begin from February 2nd 2015, when doctors will offer suitable patients the opportunity to take part in the scheme.
Patients that volunteer for involvement in the 100,000 Genomes Project will have to agree to allow drugs companies and researchers access to their genetic code and medical records, after any identifying elements have been removed.
After samples are collected, they will be securely sent to Illumina, an American biotechnology company, who have been procured by Genomics England to sequence the whole genome and to analyse it. Results will be sent back to the NHS for validation and clinical action.
The 11 Genomic Medicine Centres (GMCs) are based across the country, covering Cambridge, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Exeter and the South West Peninsula, Southampton and Birmingham, in addition to Oxford. Throughout the project, NHS England’s ambition is to secure over 100 participating NHS trusts. Consequently, a second wave of GMCs will be obtained to ensure a more comprehensive coverage across the NHS in England.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not taking part in the Project.
