A national collaborative project for the design and method development of precision medicine treatment studies
Testbed Sweden Precision Health Cancer is a national collaborative project for the design and method development of precision medicine treatment studies - for a more equal and sustainable health and cancer care where every patient and resident is offered accurate and individually tailored prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up based on their unique conditions, such as genetic profile and specific biomarkers.
Cancer is one of our greatest global societal challenges. To meet this, we must create better conditions for research and innovation. Precision health is a very important part of the work to achieve better results for patients and has great potential to improve cancer care along the entire cancer spectrum. If implemented correctly, precision health enables the capacity to prevent, manage and treat cancer fairly and effectively.
Testbed Sweden Precision Health Cancer is an innovation hub for clinical studies that works to facilitate the introduction of more accurate prevention and treatment in cancer care. The initiators are Vision Zero Cancer, Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS) and SciLifeLab.
With funding from Vinnova and the strategic innovation program Swelife, a joint venture by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas. The project is part of Vinnova's program "Sustainable Precision Health" 2021-2026.
The overall objectives of the innovation environment are to contribute to:
Increased access to and participation in clinical studies
Increased precision in prevention and diagnostics
More effective medical treatments and techniques
Increased use of existing infrastructure
Increased internationalisation
Mission
Test Bed Sweden for Precision Health in Cancer will develop a model to stimulate the development of national precision medicine studies, including new study designs, processes and technologies as well as contribute to the development of new precision diagnostic tools and the development of a model for a national MTB portal (Molecular Tumor Board). The model development also includes support for data analysis and data sharing, health economic tools to validate cost-effectiveness and sustainability, payment models, training efforts and adaptation of guidelines and other knowledge support within cancer care for cohesive patient journeys.
To enable large-scale implementation of a national, sustainable, and equal implementation of precision health in cancer care, models and methods need to be tested in a real environment. The project parties therefore intend to develop the Innovation hub into a system demonstrator that enables the translational process and that promotes the use of existing structures such as clinical trial units. Treating clinics, national and international research consortia are offered the opportunity for innovation consulting for innovative design of precision medicine studies and to test, demonstrate and iterate the models, methods and tools that are developed within the innovation environment.
This collaboration enables the generation, evaluation and valuation of evidence for precision medicine prevention, diagnostics, treatment and follow-up. This creates the conditions to accelerate the transformation and modernization of cancer care in a sustainable and equal way, to the benefit of the individual patient and society at large.
The innovation hub is delimited from the implementation and results of individual clinical studies.
Work and collaboration within Nollvision cancer / Testbed Sweden
Testbed Sweden is based on Vision Zero Cancers established form of cross-sector partnerships, community of values and culture for cooperation and mutual learning and which is based on trust, courage, and action. The environments are run in accordance with VINNOVA's conditions in separate projects regarding budget, partner constellation, steering group and roadmap. There are natural synergies and leverage effects that are used between the environments and the partner constellations.
In accordance with VINNOVA's prerequisites, the Innovation hub must work based on the approach that objectives and form of cooperation are driven based on the needs of the end user and to enable system innovation with the help of new working methods, solutions, innovation, research, experiments, activities, and policy changes. The innovation environments must work systematically with communication to spread the environment's goals and vision, engage society at all levels and attract new relevant actors, including international visibility and connection to international actors and initiatives. Furthermore, the environments must work with continuous environmental monitoring to relate to, attract and include ongoing initiatives and work for women and men to have the same power to shape society and their own lives.
Testbed Sweden Precision Health Cancer works through a flexible and dynamic collaboration with Nollvision cancer where the parties contribute their respective perspectives, skills and capacities in activities and efforts.
The operational progress of the innovation environments towards set goals is ensured by an operational coordination office led