A workshop was held yesterday that brought together industry bodies and representatives from 14 companies involved in genomics.
It was supported by Roche and hosted by Deloitte with companies involved in diagnostics, bioinformatics, cloud, data and pharmaceuticals.
The objectives were to identify and articulate the industry's role in shaping the use of genomics in Australia, related challenges and opportunities, and to develop a potential way forward.
According to Roche director of market access and public policy, Carlene Todd, "The workshop aimed to begin shaping a shared understanding of the key industry-wide challenges and opportunities and a path forward for improved collaboration."
The workshop identified a number of potential challenges to the successful adoption of genomics, such as ensuring access to the new technologies in an economically viable way, addressing capacity and capability gaps in the genomics workforce, and raising awareness of the value.
Participants also discussed the importance of ensuring consumer sovereignty over their data while enabling the use, storage and sharing of data to develop new treatments.
"There was strong support for more industry collaboration going forward and a desire to be inclusive," added Ms Todd.
A discussion document on the workshop will be developed and shared widely with stakeholders. It is expected to include a longer-term roadmap for how the industry can address the challenges and opportunities identified.