Launch of the First Two Platforms of the French Plan for Genomic Medicine 2025

An international jury selected the first two platforms that will be launched as part of the French Plan for Genomic Medicine 2025, from among 10 of the country's university hospitals (CHUs).

SeQOIA, one of the platforms that is based in Ile-de-France,  is led by a Health Cooperation Group (GCS), which consists of  the AP-HP Paris Public Hospitals Network, as well as the Curie  and Gustave Roussy Institutes. AURAGEN, the other platform, is based in Auvergne-Rhône Alpes, and is led by a GCS that consists of the region’s four CHUs, two Regional Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CRLCCs), and the Loire Oncology Institute.

Yves Lévy, President of the National Alliance for Life Sciences and Health (Aviesan), which is responsible for deployment, is delighted that the plan has already reached a crucial stage just one year after it was presented. Little by little, the management of all patients who could benefit from high-throughput sequencing is becoming a reality.

From an operational viewpoint, the plan is structured around 14 measures. Aviesan ensures implementation through an Operational Committee (COMOP), and strategic management through an Inter-Ministerial Committee that is under the authority of the country's Prime Minister. A third committee, the Monitoring Committee, liaises with those responsible for the operational deployment of the plan, as well as any institutions and regulatory authorities that may be involved, in order to schedule the elements of the action plan, ensure their correct implementation, evaluate results, and track spending relative to the initial budget.

Ultimately, the plan shall consist of the following:

• deploying a network of 12 sequencing platforms across France within the next 4 years;
• implementing the tools necessary to exploit the volumes of data generated subsequently to the installation of a Data Collector and Analyzer (DCA), which will be capable of processing and exploiting a considerable volume of generated data by matching them with medical data, and offering the first services that are part of the care pathway;
• anticipating technological developments, and their transposition to the platforms and the DCA through the creation of a Center of Reference, Innovation and Expertise (CRefIX), and by fostering the creation of a highly competitive French industrial sector. The ethical dimension is at the center of this Plan for Genomic Medicine. Access to and the use of genomic data that represent entire populations raises many ethical questions, both at the individual and societal levels. Also, in the context of the plan, the French Minister of Solidarity and Health recently approached the country's National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE), which is essential for strengthening these issues at the national level, and acquiring the means to inform, consult, and get citizens involved in this revolution.

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