Congenica and myTomorrows team up to improve patient access to precision oncology

Genomics has progressed leaps and bounds over the past decade as the cost of sequencing DNA has plummeted​. In spite of the potential of genomics to improve patient outcomes and cut healthcare costs with better diagnostics, it is still costly and slow to profile the genomes of tumors in routine care, according to Congenica’s website. The company is aiming to tackle the issue by offering software that automates and speeds up the analysis of genomic datasets.

As part of the collaboration, the partners aim to integrate Congenica’s software offerings with myTomorrow’s platform – which links patients, physicians and pharmaceutical companies to assist with clinical trial enrollment.

Their mission is to make it easier for physicians to find clinical trials of experimental cancer treatments for patients that cannot benefit from current options. As an added bonus, they could help drug developers to recruit patients more quickly.

The program is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2024, and the two companies will be busy optimizing the integration of their platforms in the meantime, Michel van Harten, myTomorrows CEO, told Outsourcing Pharma​ in an email.

In the past, myTomorrows has run collaborations with clinical-stage immunotherapy developers, with examples including Atara Biotherapeutics and Merus in 2020. While there are many players also offering ways to match patients to clinical trials, van Harten said that myTomorrows’ approach is unique.

“We are different because we are an unbiased, end-to-end platform that connects all stakeholders – patients, physicians, researchers, biopharma - and facilitates patient access  to all relevant pre-approval access options,” he said. “Other companies may offer individual services in recruitment or expanded access management.

“We combine our technology with a personalized touch, empowering patients and physicians in the decision - making process on their treatment journey, and collecting Real World Data for the biopharma companies that develop the treatments.”

The genomic medicine market was valued at $4.8 trillion in 2023 and is expected to grow to more than $11.8 trillion by 2031, according to Absolute Markets Insights​. It cited key players in the field such as Abomics, Genome Medical and Helix OpCo.

“Since the pandemic, technology adoption in healthcare – for patients, physicians and biopharma industry – has picked up rapidly and all stakeholders are increasingly willing to harness the potential of technology to improve patient care,” said van Harten.

He added that he sees a knowledge gap as the biggest hurdle to accessing new medicines early, and this can be tackled with supportive platforms like that of myTomorrows.

“This increasing adoption of technology in healthcare brings also an increasing interest from investors to bring capital to companies that are addressing the market,” van Harten concluded.