Genomics plc appointed as Analysis Partner for Genomics England GENE Consortium
17th October 2016
Genomics plc, a 2014 spinout company that is developing an integrated platform to uncover the relationships between genetic variation and human disease, has been appointed as Analysis Partner for the Genomics England Genomics Expert Network for Enterprises (GENE) Consortium.
Genomics plc will be analysing genomes at an unprecedented scale and, together with the Company’s existing knowledge base, be providing insights into human biology that will help to inform pharmaceutical R&D investment decisions.
Genomics England is delivering the UK 100,000 Genomes Project – whole genome sequencing rare disease and cancer patients in the National Health Service. Genomic information has huge potential to transform drug development pipelines, and one of Genomics England’s four main goals is ‘to enable new scientific discovery and medical insights’. To that end, in 2015, it set up the GENE consortium, which included major pharmaceutical companies such as Abbvie, AstraZeneca, Biogen, GSK, Roche, Takeda and UCB. With a focus on patients with rare diseases and cancers, over 13,000 genomes have already been sequenced and, within its secure IT infrastructure, de-identified data are being made available to Consortium participants to accelerate the development of new diagnostics and treatments for patients.
Since its formation in early 2014, Genomics plc has been building a powerful dedicated platform along with a database of genetic and linked phenotypic data on almost 3 million individuals that seamlessly integrates results from over 700 genetic studies across over 500 phenotypes, the largest dataset of its kind in the world. It is also collaborating with major pharmaceutical companies including Biogen, Eisai, Merck and Vertex, as it applies its integrated platform across all areas of pharmaceutical R&D, including target validation, assessment of on-target safety effects and discovery of repositioning opportunities.
Dr Adam Stoten, Head of Technology Transfer (Life Sciences) at Oxford University Innovation, said, “The wealth, and breadth, of knowledge in Oxford needed to unleash the power of genomics led to the formation of Genomics plc as a spinout in 2014. The rapid progress that the company has already made, coupled with collaborations such as this, anticipate a step change in the efficiency of developing new treatments for serious diseases.
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