Denmark joins the 1+ Million Genomes Initiative

Denmark has signed the declaration of cooperation that aims to link genomic health data throughout the EU and achieve access to at least 1 million sequenced genomes by 2022. Since its launch in 2018 the Commission has been supporting the ‘1+ Million Genomes’ initiative, which already involves 24 countries that have signed the declaration. Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager, welcomed Denmark into the programme: “Every signature is important for this initiative that aims to improve disease prevention, allow for more personalised diagnosis and treatments and provide a sufficient scale for new clinically impactful research. Together we are making new strides in developing methods and tools that will serve the wellbeing of Europeans.” Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, added: “At this time of unprecedented public health challenges, we have seen how important it is to advance our cooperation in the medical field. The 1+ Million Genomes initiative is an excellent example of ensuring better access to health data. Through enhanced cooperation across the EU, it will keep improving our scientific understandings and developing innovative treatments and diagnostics for the benefit of all citizens.” Responding to the emerging needs, the initiative has recently included infectious diseases among its use cases and will leverage the genomic data to deepen our knowledge of human susceptibility to serious conditions that are related to the COVID-19 disease. More information on the initiative is available here and in a brochure.