What is Genomics?
Genomics – the study of our genetic material, or DNA – is enabling truly personalised medicines, designed to effectively address patients’ disease with as few side-effects as possible. It is also paving the way to more accurate, convenient diagnostic products that help characterise and potentially prevent disease, by picking up signs much earlier.
Genomics is already changing medicine, making it more personalised, and ultimately more effective. NHS England is committed to using genomics to improve the health of our population through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS), which provides genomic testing and advice to patients across the country.
As engineers and biologists join forces to build ever more sophisticated gene-editing tools, new classes of medicines are emerging, including cell and gene therapies. These involve altering cells or genes, usually outside the body, to provide a patient-specific therapy that is re-injected into the patient. Scientists’ growing understanding of how genes exert their influence, and of the crucial impact of multiple environmental factors on those genes (“epigenetics”), is opening new frontiers of drug research. It has led to an explosion of activity around the gut microbiome – the colonies of micro-organisms residing in our gut – and its role in health and disease.
UK bioscience companies are at the forefront of these innovative, converging disciplines. These companies are a key part of the UK Bioindustry Association (BIA)’s membership and as the trade association for innovative life science companies in the UK, the BIA provides a home for these groups through our Advisory Committees and working groups on antimicrobial resistance, cell and gene therapy, engineering biology and genomics.
Given both this focus of our membership and the increasing external interest in how these innovations can tackle key challenges that society faces and contribute to the growth of a 21st-century economy, the BIA is delighted to publish this series of four explainers on antimicrobial resistance, cell and gene therapy, engineering biology and genomics. Within these explainers, we describe what these areas are all about, the important contributions made by UK bioscience firms, and the external environment required to ensure that these innovative approaches continue to benefit patients, the economy and society.
Genomics nation 2023
The UK genomics sector stands at an important inflection point. It has already become world-leading, building upon the heritage of Franklin, Watson, Crick, and the Human Genome Project, delivered by the Wellcome Sanger Institute, and most recently the 100,000 Genomes Project by Genomics England. Now, with more start-ups and scale-ups in the genomics space than ever before, we are on the cusp of this technology becoming one that is embedded within our healthcare system to improve patients lives.
Genomics nation 2022
Innovative UK genomics companies are vital to the future wealth of our nation. With the right investment, skilled people and partnership working with the NHS family, UK SMEs are ideally placed to have an impact on the global stage. The report shows that UK genomics companies raised £1.9 billion of venture investment and £35.7 million in public grants since 2017, demonstrating the strength of this innovative sector.
The UK Genomics sector
To help investors and policymakers understand the opportunities Genomics presents in the UK, in July 2021, we produced a benchmarking study of the size and strengths of the UK Genomics sector.
Genomics: A guide to genomics and UK excellence in the field
The guide contains input from BIA members at the Wellcome Genome Campus, Congenica, Eagle Genomics, Genomics plc, Global Gene Corp, Oxford Nanopore, New Gene, Cambridge Cancer Genomics, Cambridge Epigenetix.
Data, AI and Genomics Advisory Committee (DAGAC)
The BIA’s Data, AI and Genomics advisory committee leads the BIA’s techbio policy development, drawing on the expertise and experience of thought leaders from across technology in life sciences. The committee helps shape the regulatory, policy and business environment for this vital subsector, seeking to make the UK the best place to start and scale Techbio companies, by improving the landscape for data, AI, genomics and precision medicine.
DAGAC priorities
1. Connect
- Enable SME engagement with investors, funders, data holders, and big pharma to grow the UK genomics ecosystem
2. Inform/Support
- Inform BIA’s work on UK’s diagnostics capability post COVID-19
- Support BIA’s lobbying activities, including Parliament Day and the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy
- Input into BIA consultation responses on relevant policy issues
- Inform the implementation of the Government’s genomics healthcare strategy
3. Expert Advice
- Publish a report on UK genomics
- Secure and act as SME representation on UK National Genomics Board
- Work with government stakeholders, SMEs, big pharma and investors develop a proposal for a genomics-focused venture fund to support delivery of solutions that enable genomic medicine in the UK and globally
DAGAC Chair and Vice Chair
Steve Gardner
Steve is a serial technology entrepreneur with over 30 years’ experience developing and commercializing ground-breaking data science and informatics in the healthcare, life sciences and agri-food sectors. Never afraid to innovate, Steve has an established track record in building world-class companies, teams and products working at senior levels in the UK, EU and US for Fortune 500 and start-up companies. He is a former Global Director of Research Informatics for Astra A/B and has consulted with drug discovery and safety teams in over 20 biopharma companies.
Danuta Jeziorska
Danuta is a deep tech entrepreneur and CEO & Co-Founder of Nucleome Therapeutics, with more than 16 years of experience working in the field, Danuta has deep expertise in gene regulation, transcription, epigenetics, 3D genome analysis and bioinformatics. In acknowledgement of her achievements at Nucleome, Danuta was recently recognised as an outstanding leader in the biotech sector by leading scientific journal Nature Biotechnology. She currently sits on the BIA’s Genomics Advisory Committee, holds an Honorary position at the University of Oxford, has a PhD in Systems Biology and a BSc in Biotechnology. Prior to Nucleome she founded Innovation Forum Oxford, for which she was recognised as one of the top Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness in 2018.
BIA DAGAC Members
