Cross-border Collaboration Advances Cancer Care

Written By Bomdia AB

FOCU·SE is an engine for basic research, innovative clinical trials, and clinical implementation of precision medicine. On World Cancer Day, some of us at Testbed Sweden Precision Health Cancer had the opportunity to share how we collaborate across boundaries to advance cancer care.

First, we focused on the opportunities to conduct clinical trials in precision cancer treatment in Sweden and the expectations for the SweTrial initiative. We then turned to NASTRO, the national network of oncological trial units that is at the center of the rapidly growing clinical trial scene. Finally, we focused on FOCU.SE, the upcoming Swedish DRUP-like clinical study, the Patient Council that we have established together with @Network Against Cancer, and the national infrastructures for research, development, and clinical implementation that make everything happen!

Testbed Sweden Precision Health Cancer is a collaborative structure with long-term support from Vinnova and Swelife, bringing together all regions with university healthcare, authorities such as the Medical Products Agency and TLV, patient organizations, industry associations, and national infrastructures such as GMS, SciLifeLab, and the catalyst Vision Zero Cancer.

Our overall goal is to increase access to precision medicine studies in cancer, and multiple work packages address the studies themselves as well as diagnostics, regulatory issues, HTA and health economics, payment models, education and skills development, and co-creation with patients.

Testbed Sweden has been instrumental in initiating two major collaborative projects, PCM4EU and PRIME-ROSE, together with similar initiatives in other European countries. These initiatives are particularly important for connecting the so-called DRUP-like ("Drug Rediscovery") precision medicine studies in cancer, which in many countries have become a key to clinical implementation of precision medicine, particularly in our Nordic countries. PCM4EU and PRIME-ROSE: Collaboration for implementation of precision cancer medicine in Europe | Acta Oncologica

Stage participants:

  • Anders Edsjö, MD, PhD, Vice Chairman, Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS), co-founder and leader of Testbed Sweden

  • Annika Baan, RN, MSc Manager, Clinical Trial Unit Phase 1 Oncology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and chairman of NASTRO, The Swedish Network of Clinical Trials Units Oncology at the University Hospitals

  • Ebba Hallersjö Hult, co-founder and leader of Vision Zero Cancer and Testbed Sweden

  • Edvard Abel, MD, PhD, Head of Sahlgrenska Comprehensive Cancer Center and principal investigator for the Swedish national study FOCU-SE on precision medicine against cancer

  • Elham Hedayati, MD, PhD, Senior lecturer & Associate Professor of Oncology, Karolinska Institutet, Director of Research, Development, Education and Innovation at Södersjukhuset, Region Stockholm

  • Frida Lundmark, PhD, Policy Manager, Lif – the research-based pharmaceutical companies

  • Gunilla Andrew-Nielsen, Head of Clinical Trials and Special Permissions Department, Innovation Office, Swedish Medical Products Agency

  • Janne Lehtiö, PhD, Professor, Karolinska Institutet, Precision Medicine area lead DDLS program, Science for Life Laboratory, Board of Directors, Karolinska Comprehensive Cancer Center

  • Margareta Haag, Chairman, Network Against Cancer

  • Maria Creignou, MD, PhD, Consultant hematologist, Karolinska Comprehensive Cancer Center, Phase I-unit | Center for Clinical Cancer Studies



Bomdia AB
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