Sydney, Australia – Thursday 6 February 2025

Omico welcomes the Federal Government’s significant $143.4 million investment in world-leading precision oncology programs — the Zero Childhood Cancer Program and PrOSPeCT—supporting children and adults diagnosed with challenging cancers.

PrOSPeCT has been instrumental in providing Australians with advanced, incurable and poor prognosis cancer diagnoses the ability to receive precision oncology and is a critical initiative advancing cancer care in this country.

Ian Black, CEO, Omico says” We are extremely pleased that the PrOSPeCT initiative will continue delivering precision oncology to Australians facing the toughest cancer diagnoses. This investment ensures the vital infrastructure we’ve established remains available to more people, offering access to comprehensive genomic profiling and matched therapies at no cost to patients. It is a commitment to patients, families, and Australia’s leadership in cutting-edge cancer care. We thank the Minister for recognising the impact of this work and the importance of ensuring its continuation.”

Since 2016, Omico’s programs have provided more than 22,300 Australians with access to precision oncology innovations, with referrals from over 1,300 clinicians nationwide. Beyond transforming patient care, Omico has supported more than 90 oncology clinical trials—expanding Australia’s research capabilities, attracting international investment, and offering patients and families treatment options that would otherwise be out of reach.

Professor David Thomas, Chief Science and Strategy Officer at Omico and Director of the Centre of Molecular Oncology, UNSW, says “Investing in Omico is an investment in both the health and economy of Australia. Over 8 years we have built systems, a national network  and know-how, generated vital evidence, stimulated economic growth, and most importantly, changed lives. But our work is far from done. With this support, we can continue to expand access to precision oncology for Australians with challenging cancers. Beyond this, we look forward to progressing conversations with government and industry to take the next step—making precision oncology a routine part of cancer care.”

Continuing our commitment to Australians with complex and advanced cancers is vital—not only for the patients and families who rely on these innovations, but also for advancing research that drives the future of cancer care. We are honoured that the ground-breaking work behind PrOSPeCT and the Zero Childhood Cancer Program will continue, improving outcomes for Australians. Our focus remains clear: embedding precision oncology into a sustainable cancer care model and ensuring advanced healthcare solutions become standard patient care.

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Issued on behalf of Omico by Cube. Contact: Anne-Marie Sparrow, 0417 421 560 / anne-marie@cube.com.au or Emma Norgrove, 0499 688 011 / emma@cube.com.au

 

 

Notes for editors:

Precision oncology involves using genomic technology to detect the unique genetic and molecular variations in a person’s cancer that drive its growth, in order to identify clinical trials of new targeted treatments that can specifically address those variations to improve patient outcomes.

Omico (www.omico.com.au) is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation leading the use of precision oncology to turn the tide on cancer in Australia. The unique Omico network of researchers, clinicians, hospitals and industry partners is accelerating community access to the latest developments – comprehensive genomic profiling and next-generation treatments. Omico is a nation-wide organisation and is proud that every state and territory is represented by its Members and Participants, as follows: –

• Linear Clinical Research Limited (WA)
• Central Adelaide Local Health District (SA)
• Northern Territory of Australia (NT)
• Department of Health, The State of Tasmania (Tas)
• Garvan Institute of Medical Research (NSW)
• The University of Sydney represented by NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre (NSW)
• The Australian Capital Territory represented by ACT Health (ACT)
• Metro South Hospital and Health Services, represented by Princess Alexandra Hospital (QLD)
• Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (VIC)

About PrOSPeCT (Precision Oncology Screening Platform Enabling Clinical Trials)
Omico’s PrOSPeCT is the largest oncology genomics initiative in Australia, enabled by public and private sector funding and partnerships totalling $185 M AUD, including $61.2M from the Australian Government. By the end of 2025, PrOSPeCT will have provided free comprehensive genomic profiling to more than 23,000 Australians with advanced, incurable or poor prognosis cancers and identified potential matches for patients to clinical trials with new targeted therapies.

PrOSPeCT is creating skills jobs, building Australia’s capabilities and infrastructure in cancer research and care, and strengthening our position as a premier destination for precision oncology trials.

PrOSPeCT builds on the success of Omico’s Molecular Screening and Therapeutics (MoST) study which recruited over 8,000 advanced cancer patients 2018-2023. MoST was supported by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and University of Sydney NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre.

PrOSPeCT foundation partners are Roche Australia, NCI (National Computations Infrastructure, Australian National University) and the Children’s Cancer Institute.

PrOSPeCT is also supported by Bayer Australia, Bioplatforms Australia, Elevation Oncology, George Clinical, Illumina Australia, Microba, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Praxis Australia, Quantium Health, Sonic Healthcare, Southern Star Research, and Syntro Health. For a full list of cancer treatment and research centres and partners in the Omico network, visit: https://www.omico.com.au/about-us/our-network-partners/