Genomics England to collaborate with CCG

Genomics England and Cambridge Cancer Genomics have announced they will be using Genomics England’s 100,000 Genomes Project data and CCG’s cancer diagnostics precision AI platform to collaborate on improving lung and colorectal cancer patient access to immunotherapies, monitoring their long-term effectiveness, and identifying resistance to immune-oncology drugs as quickly as possible.
Chief scientific officer at CCG, Dr Nirmesh Patel, said: “Through genomic analysis of longitudinal liquid biopsy samples collected on a bi-weekly basis, we are able to detect the signals of resistance and relapse much earlier than standard of care. In this project, we hope to extend this technology to a new class of breakthrough cancer medicines.”
Chief executive officer at CCG, Dr John Cassidy, said: “Genomics England have set the standard for population-scale whole genome sequencing. CCG.ai are excited to help translate this formative work into clinical benefit for cancer patients.”
Chief commercial officer of Genomics England, Joanne Hackett, said: “Our partnership with CCG is a perfect example of the value of the Genomics England Discovery Forum, and the 100,000 Genomes Project. The data and samples that have been donated by NHS patients are being used to help innovative technologies improve healthcare in very real ways. It is exciting for us to see our Discovery Forum member organisations help return diagnoses to previously undiagnosed patients, explore the dataset to develop more effective therapies and bring together exciting advances from different fields, like liquid biopsies and artificial intelligence, to build the next generation of diagnostic tools that will underpin precision medicine.”