The Government approves the call to launch the new Precision Medicine infrastructure, IMPaCT
The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the call to launch the Precision Medicine Infrastructure associated with Science and Technology (IMPaCT), the first step of the new Spanish Strategy for Personalized Medicine reflected in the Shock Plan for Science and Innovation presented in July. With an endowment of 25,8 million euros in subsidies, it will allow progress in the implementation of a new way of doing medicine, linked to scientific knowledge and the ability to exploit all available information to increase the quality and efficiency of the health system. Specifically, it foresees that the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) will launch three new programs: Predictive Medicine, Data Science and Genomic Medicine.
The Spanish Strategy for Personalized Medicine will count for its implementation with 77,3 million euros. To these 25,8 million - approved in a credit transfer to the Ministry of Science and Innovation in the Council of Ministers last Tuesday - another 51,5 million will be added in 2021, to complete the actions provided for in the Shock Plan, between which include the creation of a National Center for Advanced Therapies and R + D + I projects. This Strategy will be coordinated by the ISCIII and its preparation and implementation will be co-led by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Innovation, with the participation of all the autonomous communities.
Precision Medicine
Precision medicine involves a transformation in the way decisions are made with direct effect on clinical practice and public health measures. It involves having genomic and molecular information at the individual level, and having the ability to integrate it with clinical information and other social, environmental and behavioral factors, with the aim of improving diagnosis, treatment or the ability to predict the development of diseases. The ultimate goal is a safer, more efficient, preventive, and predictive medicine.
The call for the year 2020 will mean the creation of the Precision Medicine Infrastructure associated with Science and Technology, through three programs: Predictive Medicine, Data Science and Genomic Medicine. The three programs, closely related to each other, will make it possible this year to generate a solid scientific network base that will facilitate the actions to be carried out over the next year.
The first of the three programs, Predictive Medicine, is aimed at the design and implementation of a large population cohort with clinical, epidemiological and biological data, measured at the individual level, which allows representing the entire population resident in Spain, including ethnic variability and geographic and environmental diversity. The idea is to generate a record of individual and population data that is the basis for better decision-making in health; It will make it possible to build predictive models of disease, identify health inequalities, monitor key indicators and evaluate the impact of health policies.
For its part, the Data Science Program seeks to develop a system for the collection, integration and analysis of clinical and molecular data aimed at improving the health of each individual patient, and which allows the secondary use of existing information in the National Health System. Health for the benefit of society with objectives of public health, health planning and research. Its objective is to optimize the management of the information generated, to interpret and apply it in the most effective way for the population and the health system; will provide bioinformatics tools for the management of genomic data and medical informatics solutions for the management and integration of clinical data, facilitating the interoperability of the clinical information systems of the different autonomous health systems.
Finally, the third program, Genomic Medicine, will develop infrastructure and coordination protocols to carry out genomic analysis and other "omics" data effectively, efficiently, and equitably across the country, relying on large Spanish research centers that already have cutting-edge sequencing technology and experience applying it to the diagnosis of human diseases. Its goal is to guarantee a strategic state reserve of highly complex sequencing diagnostic services, which will be provided at no cost to patients or regional health services. It will optimize and strengthen available massive sequencing capabilities, focusing them on genetic diagnostic needs—exomes, whole genomes, etc.—and paying special attention to the early molecular diagnosis of rare diseases.
Entities and institutions that carry out or manage R + D + I activities in Biomedicine or in Health Sciences and Technologies can benefit from this call, such as accredited health research institutes, public and private non-profit health institutions and entities linked or arranged with the National Health System, Public Research Bodies, universities and other R&D centers.
One project per program
Interested entities may request the coordination of one of the three programs of the call, for which they will present a proposal for an Action Plan, as well as the list of collaborating entities that will participate together with the requesting entity and the resources and infrastructures that they contribute. . One project per program will be awarded.
The organization and processes of IMPaCT must conform to the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and Open Science, specifically incorporating principles of responsible governance, ethics, gender equality, scientific education, open access and citizen participation.
In short, this call will make it possible to configure an infrastructure of scientific-technical services that supports and strengthens the existing R & D & I capacities in Precision Medicine and facilitates the real implementation of Precision Medicine in the National Health System. Likewise, it will allow generating the capacity for immediate analysis of data obtained in real time, to give a coordinated and immediate response to any scientific emergency that affects Public Health, and to orient research towards health problems through implementation real of Precision Medicine in the SNS. It will also enhance the participation and leadership of Spain in international R & D & I projects, programs, platforms and infrastructures aimed at Precision Medicine and data science.
Source: Ministry of Science and Innovation. 15/09/2020.
