Roadmap for a precision-medicine initiative in the Nordic region

• Published in: Nature Genetics
• Main Authors: Njolstad, Pal Rasmus, Andreassen, Ole Andreas, Brunak, Soren, Borglum, Anders D., Dillner, Joakim, Esko, Tonu, Franks, Paul W., Freimer, Nelson, Groop, Leif, Heimer, Hakon, Hougaard, David M., Hovig, Eivind, Hveem, Kristian, Jalanko, Anu, Kaprio, Jaakko, Knudsen, Gun Peggy, Melbye, Mads, Metspalu, Andres, Mortensen, Preben Bo, Palmgren, Juni, Palotie, Aarno, Reed, Wenche, Stefansson, Hreinn, Stitziel, Nathan O., Sullivan, Patrick F., Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur, Vaudel, Marc, Vuorio, Eero, Werge, Thomas, Stoltenberg, Camilla, Stefansson, Kari
• Other Authors: Centre of Excellence in Complex Disease Genetics, Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, Aarno Palotie / Principal Investigator, Genomics of Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Genetic Epidemiology
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021
• Subjects: SINGLE BRCA2 MUTATION; FREQUENCY; 1184 Genetics; developmental biology; physiology; 3111 Biomedicine; Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/325612

The Nordic region, comprising primarily Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, has many of the necessary characteristics for being at the forefront of genome-based precision medicine. These include egalitarian and universal healthcare, expertly curated patient and population registries, biobanks, large population-based prospective cohorts linked to registries and biobanks, and a widely embraced sense of social responsibility that motivates public engagement in biomedical research. However, genome-based precision medicine can be achieved only through coordinated action involving all actors in the healthcare sector. Now is an opportune time to organize scientists in the Nordic region, together with other stakeholders including patient representatives, governments, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and funding agencies, to initiate a Nordic Precision Medicine Initiative. We present a roadmap for how this organization can be created. The Initiative should facilitate research, clinical trials and knowledge transfer to meet regional and global health challenges. Non peer reviewed