It is time to build a national, first-class genomic medicine industry that is scalable, futureproof, and delivers value for money.
The statement comes from the Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies in her annual report, published in July.
She outlined opportunities that advances in genomic technology could deliver for clinical practice and public health.
Dame Sally encourages the public to agree to the use of their data, which is “key to advancing genomic medicine”.
“Genomics is not tomorrow. It’s here today. I believe genomic services should be available to more patients, whilst being a cost-effective service in the NHS,” she wrote.
“This is exciting science with the potential for fantastic improvements in prevention, health protection and patient outcomes. Now we need to welcome the genomic era and deliver the genomic dream.”
She also said that DNA testing should become standard across cancer care.
