A genomics research company in Ghana has received support from the pharmaceutical giant Roche to sequence the whole genomes of people in Africa who have cancer, in hopes of improving treatments for those populations. African people are among the most genetically diverse and are about 17% of global population but make up less than 2% of participants in genetic studies. The African Cancer Atlas aims to collect genomic and clinical data from up to 7500 patients with diverse types of cancer, including breast, prostate, and lung, to better understand cancer biology, identify biomarkers, and develop targeted therapies. Roche and its Ghanaian partner, Yemaachi Biotech, say they will make the database freely accessible to researchers based in Africa. The companies declined to disclose the amount of their funding.
Source: Science