Norway now joins an ambitious and extensivegenomics collaboration with other European countries. The collaboration will benefit Norwegian research, Norwegian health care and Norwegian patients.
The goal of this European collaboration ist o improve the research quality. The data can contribute to better prevention, earlier and easier diagnostics, less sideeffects and more precise prognosis through personalized medicine.
- There are huge potential for knowledge and medical treatment in genomics. Health care personnel in Norway need access to international databases with genetic information in order to offer the best possible diagnosticsand treatments. By entering into this collaboration,Norwegian experts will be able to contribute to thedevelopment of these databases, says minister of Health Bent Høie.
Especially important for cancer and rare diseases
The minister has asked the Norwegian ambassador to the EU, Mr. Rolf Einar Fife, to sign the declaration for delivering cross-border access to a genomic database called “I million genomes”.
The signing will take place in Brussels Thursday 6th of June.
The initiative shall facilitatethe exchange of genetic data between local, regional and national databases and biobanks in a secure waywhich will ensure the protection of personal data.
- Having access to this kind of data is especially valuable for cancer medicine and rare diseases. The European collaboration supports existing national and international initiatives in the area, says Bent Høie.
The goal of the collaboration agreements is to collect 1 million genomes within 2022. The letter of intent between EU/EEA countries was signed in April 2018.
Source: government.no / Norway Today
