Sanofi and GSK join Finland’s genomics study

GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi have joined Finland’s large scale genomics project FinnGen, based on data from 500,000 biobank volunteers.
First launched in 2017, the project aims to contribute to genetic research by ultimately identifying new therapeutic targets and diagnostics for treating numerous diseases. It’s made up of industry and academic partners, (public and private organisations), and has pharmaceutical companies Biogen, AbbVie, Celgene, Genentech, Pfizer, MSD and AstraZeneca on board.
“FinnGen offers an exciting collaborative opportunity to study genetic impacts on human conditions over time in a world class research environment“, said Matt Nelson, Head of Human Genetics at GSK.
“This investment will complement our longstanding interest in human genetics and is consistent with our strategy of using genetics as a key enabler of drug discovery,”
The project is expected to continue for ten years, with the funding coming from pharmaceutical companies and Business Finland.
Mark Daly, Director of FIMM and a co-architect of FinnGen, said “With these additional resources, we aim to catalyse and support international biobank partnerships to perform meta-analyses that will generate additional insights from the greater power and global diversity that such partnerships can bring.”