NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Precision medicine firm OrigiMed said today that it has launched a new initiative to create a cancer genetics database specific to the Chinese population.
The project — called the Special Chinese Big Data Platform for Cancer Genomics Informatics — aims to gather data on about 5,000 Chinese cancer patients to help identify the genetic drivers of the disease, as well as gather information on genes that contribute to metastasis, disease relapse, drug efficacy, and toxicity. According to Shanghai-based OrigiMed, these data will facilitate cancer research, and help clinicians diagnose patients and develop personalized treatment regimens.
In addition to OrigiMed, lead members of the initiative include the Beijing Xisike Clinical Oncology Research Foundation and the East Clinical Center of Ontology.
Nearly 40 hospitals are expected to participate in the effort, to which OrigiMed will contribute whole-exome sequencing data from more than 2,000 patients with various cancer types, sequencing data from around 450 cancer-related genes, and targeted clinical treatment plans.
Additional details were not disclosed.
Earlier this year, OrigiMed partnered with Illumina to develop next-generation sequencing-based cancer assays.