Parliamentary lunch on the genome sequencing pilot project

On September 17, experts from the fields of medicine, associations, and the diagnostics industry discussed the potential of the genome sequencing pilot project, which began in August with the first data transfers, with members of the German Bundestag during a luncheon at the Parliamentary Society in Berlin. The event was hosted by BIO Deutschland and EUCOPE (European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs).

In the pilot project, patients with rare diseases and cancer are examined in detail using genome sequencing, enabling targeted and improved treatment. Representatives of the biotechnology and diagnostics industry emphasized at the event with parliamentarians that the innovation potential of the pilot project could be exploited even better if outpatient service providers were more closely involved. In a participatory healthcare system in which silos are dismantled, innovative concepts such as the genome sequencing pilot project should not be implemented without the participation of economic drivers of innovation such as outpatient service providers.  The reliable and sustainable financing of genome computing centers should also be clarified.  Otherwise, the structures that have been established would disappear again once the project has ended.  The model project has been launched with a duration of five years and will be scientifically monitored during this period to document its advantages and disadvantages. Currently, 28 clinics are participating, and data from around 5,000 patients is included. The goal is to integrate genomic medicine into the healthcare system. The project is only one component of the modernization and digitization of healthcare data use.