Genomic Medicine Sweden, Hartwig Medical Foundation Partner on WGS in Cancer Care
The organizations will work to implement WGS as a routine diagnostic tool and build cross-border data infrastructure for precision oncology research.
Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS) and the Netherlands’ Hartwig Medical Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of whole genome sequencing (WGS) and precision oncology in routine cancer care across the two European countries.
Under the agreement, announced June 1, the partners will work in four “concrete” areas: jointly advancing clinical implementation of WGS as a default diagnostic tool for adults with acute leukaemia; validating and implementing Hartwig’s OncoAnalyser cancer genomics analysis pipeline for hematological malignancies; benchmarking and progressively rolling out WGS for selected solid tumours; and harmonizing the data models used by both organisations for genomic and clinical data.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This partnership is another important step towards making precision oncology a standard, equitable part of cancer care,” Richard Brandell, Director of Genomic Medicine Sweden, said in a statement. “By aligning our efforts with Hartwig, we accelerate the journey from genomic insight to better outcomes for patients in Sweden and beyond.”
The deal combines Sweden’s nationwide infrastructure for genomic diagnostics with Hartwig’s sequencing capabilities, bioinformatics pipelines, and database.
The collaboration will also consider data already generated through routine care. The organizations aim to make their datasets comparable and reusable for research while enabling the development of new diagnostics and therapies. Longer term, they intend to support federated analyses, enabling researchers and clinicians to query Swedish, Dutch, and future partner datasets without sensitive data leaving its national jurisdiction.