New NHS Genomics Strategy to Speed Up Treatment for Thousands of Babies
The new NHS Genomics Strategy has been launched by Amanda Pritchard, building on a previous paper from BEIS, and setting out how genomics will become increasingly used within the NHS.
This five year plan will include better and faster diagnosis and treatment, including to help rapidly diagnose severely ill children and babies to help save thousands of lives, using whole genome sequencing tests from a blood test.
The NHS Chief Executive revealed this while speaking at England's first-ever NHS genomics healthcare summit. This was all part of the NHS Genomics Medicine Service, which had first been announced in 2018.
10 years on from the 100,000 Genomes Project, which David Cameron set up through Genomics England, and the application of genomics to provide better diagnosis and treatments is becoming a reality. This follows a paper from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (BEIS) in 2020.
As part of the roll-out of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, more than 1,000 children and babies in intensive care every year will benefit. Previously, these patients would have had to endure vigorous testing and severely delayed results. This revolutionary service aims to reduce this issue by providing quick, efficient and accurate testing to these young patients.
At the summit, Amanda Pritchard announced NHS England's new strategy to accelerate genomics in the NHS. The NHS has set four main priorities within its strategy:
Embedding Genomics in the NHS, Through a World-Leading, Innovative Service Model
The NHS plans to embed the genomics service within the NHS so that they can evolve together. The co-creation of services and infrastructure, and development of the workforce, will help ensure the Service does not stand still. The NHS will focus on:
- Co-creating services, infrastructure and an operating model with patients and the public.
- Developing a sustainable infrastructure across testing, clinical services and research and innovation.
- Building greater clinical and professional leadership and developing the capacity and capability of the workforce.
- Developing national and international collaborations and partnerships.
Delivering Equitable Genomic Testing for Improved Prediction, Prevention, Diagnosis and Precision Medicine
Genomics can help patients, who are at a high risk of developing certain serious conditions, such as cancer, because of family history, to obtain early and precise diagnosis and access the correct treatment, medicine and support. This should help reduce the risk of the condition having more serious health impacts in the future. It can also help in situations of rare diseases where diagnosis is often delayed and symptoms remain harder to detect. NHS England plans to systematically introduce genomic testing and drive the use of precision treatment. The NHS will:
- systematically introduce new clinical indications for genomic testing and embedding comprehensive genomic testing within end-to-end clinical pathways
- drive the use of precision treatments and optimising the use of medicines through genomics
- enable the rapid evaluation and adoption of affordable, efficient, and innovative genomic technologies
Enabling Genomics to Be at the Forefront of the Data and Digital Revolution
The NHS understands the importance of using the data obtained through the Genomics Medicine Service efficiently and effectively. In order for genomics medicine to accurately diagnose and predict future potential health complications, the data that is collected must be used to improve diagnosis and access to precision medicine, and improve patient care overall. The NHS will support this by:
- developing an interoperable informatic and data infrastructure that enables the NHS to use and share genomic data appropriately to improve patient care
- putting the NHS at the forefront of using genomic data alongside other health data to drive health improvements for individuals and populations
- enabling the NHS to use cutting-edge analytical tools and up to date variant databases to maximise diagnosis, access to precision medicine and efficiency
Evolving the Service Through Cutting-Edge Science, Research and Innovation
The NHS has identified that genomic research has the ability to advance scientific progress in diagnostic discovery, translational research and the development of new precision treatments. The NHS will support patients within the service to make informed choices regarding the health data collected, and empower those tested to take preventative action following risk-based predictions. The NHS will provide support by:
- enabling patients to make informed choices regarding the use of their data for research and innovation
- enriching existing and developing new NHS GMS relationships to support innovation and the generation of evidence for adoption and improvements in health and care
- ensuring ongoing alignment with clinical trials and national life sciences projects and supporting the growth of life sciences in the UK
What Does this Mean for the Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences Industry?
Despite the last two challenging years of COVID-19, the UK remains ahead of the game on genomics. The new NHS Genomics Strategy and the rollout of the Genomics Medicine Service builds on previous Government plans to take a lead in this area. This provides real potential for genomics to offer greater understanding into how our genetic makeup impacts our health. The data obtained through the innovative genomics testing will enable patients to be treated quicker and better, and for those at risk of developing life-threatening and serious conditions and diseases there is hope to try and prevent their health from deteriorating in the future. 'Prevention over cure' remains at the forefront of the NHS strategy and VWV is excited to see how the UK's unique health system continues to develop and evolve and provide an environment to not only treat people better but also provide more data for research.