23 May, 2024
A $1.5M National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Partnership Grant has been awarded to the Macquarie University Centre for Economic Impacts of Genomic Medicine (GenIMPACT), for the genetic blindness study, “Translation of precision medicine into clinics for genetic blindness: from diagnosis to clinical management and therapies”.
This collaborative project will be led by Distinguished Professor Deborah Schofield, Director, GenIMPACT, (as pictured on the right), who will work closely with investigators from The University of Sydney, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Save Sight Institute, University of Western Australia, University of Melbourne, and University of Auckland. The grant will be accompanied by nearly $3.4 million in cash and in-kind contributions from 18 partners spanning Australia and New Zealand. Retina Australia is proud to announce that it is a Partner Organisation in this project.
Even though there have been advances in using precision medicine for IRDs, Australia still lacks strong economic models to assess cost-effectiveness and support public funding requests. Without an accurate diagnosis, patients are unable to get access to targeted treatments and reproductive technologies.
Key aims of this project are:
- To collect detailed information on the costs and quality of life for people with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) based on their specific genetic types.
- Evaluate the social and economic impacts of different IRDs across the country and determine if precision medicine approaches are cost-effective.
- Help bring new genetic and targeted treatments for IRDs into everyday medical use and policy, improving health and quality of life for IRD patients and their caregivers.
The evidence from this study will look to establish the cost-effectiveness of genomic medicine for IRDs, and data to support access to targeted management.
List of Partner Organisations:
Partner universities are The University of Sydney, University of WA, University of Melbourne, and University of Auckland. Healthcare partners are South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Lions Eye Institute, Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and the Agency for Clinical Innovation. Consumer vision and philanthropic partners are Cure Blindness Australia, Genetic Alliance Australia, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Retina Australia, The SA and GJ Ombler Charitable Trust, and Vision Australia. Industry partners are Illumina Australia, Janssen Australia, Belite Bio, PYC Therapeutics, and Nacuity Pharmaceuticals.
https://retinaaustralia.com.au/1-5m-nhmrc-partnership-grant-awarded-to-genetic-blindness-study/
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