Blockchain Genomics Pioneer Joins Forces with Nasdaq-Listed Molecular Diagnostics Company To Accelerate Cancer Detection Through ‘Critical Mass’ of Genomics Data

Shivom, the blockchain-powered global ‘Unique ID’ genomic database platform, has today announced a major partnership with leading molecular diagnostics company Genetic Technologies Limited (ASX: GTG; NASDAQ: GENE) that is expected to accelerate the prediction of cancer for millions of individuals worldwide.

GTG, whose lead product is BREVAGenplus® – a clinically validated risk assessment test for non-hereditary breast cancer and a first in its class – is at the forefront of preventive medicine. However, while collecting data to develop the BREVAGenplus® tests has to date taken over 7 years, the company’s partnership with Shivom will massively reduce such timelines.

“Our partnership with GTG is so significant because, by bringing together the millions of individuals’ genomic profiles that Shivom enables with GTG’s market leading tests, as well as those of many other partners, we will create critical mass that accelerates transformative disease prevention and personalized healthcare,” commented Dr. Axel Schumacher, co-founder & CEO of Shivom.

“This sort of big data analysis and healthcare servicing is only possible through blockchain. The low-cost management of data that it enables allows us to revolutionize how genomics is presented to the world.”

Shivom’s blockchain-enabled healthcare platform, which aims to become the largest unique genomic & healthcare data-hub on the planet, puts ownership of genome data back into the hands of individuals. Via its ‘first of a kind’ Global Genome ID, Shivom aims to revolutionize preventative healthcare, as well as how cures to 7,000 rare genetic diseases are discovered.

By partnering with GTG, Shivom is tapping into a rich history of research investment and transformative personalized healthcare services. The Molecular Diagnostics company has already spent a significant amount of funds on research and, by working with Shivom’s huge database of genomics data, will be able to identify cancer risks and other diseases much more quickly than was previously possible.

“We believe blockchain technology will open up markets to make it much more efficient to catch many more users and many more practitioners. Not only that, by using the Shivom platform to its full potential, we will also be able to access the benefits of research in collaboration with other personalized healthcare organisations,” commented Dr Paul Kasian, Chairman & Interim CEO of GTG.

“Blockchain’s role in this project, especially around the encryption and management of data, is particularly exciting for us. At present, we only use genomic data on a one-off basis. However, now we’ll be able to use the data over and over again. This will be extremely valuable for GTG as we create genomics tests for a wide range of cancers,” added Dr Kasian.

GTG’s BREVAGenPlus has provided a cost-effective method of assessing the risk of non-hereditary breast cancer in women (a cancer that 1 in every 11 women develops in their lifetime). The importance of the partnership with Shivom is that the volume of unique and ethnically diverse global genomic data that will be available via Shivom’s platform will hugely accelerate this process for new tests.

“At Shivom we have created a secure global genomic ecosystem that addresses the security and privacy issues that have previously made many individuals reluctant to share their genomic data. As this data can be encrypted and anonymised and, crucially, remain under the ownership of the individual, not Shivom, we expect to see a big increase in the number of people taking up genomic sequencing. We believe that increased usage will also be driven by the fact that our system enables users to monetize their data by sharing it anonymously with various medical institutions –  like GTG – within our ecosystem,” added Dr. Schumacher.

“Because of our focus on sequencing ethnic minorities and broad global geographies, the Shivom platform will greatly streamline and simplify the task of collecting information for companies like GTG, thereby enabling them to more readily introduce highly-accessible test kits to the market,” concluded Gourish Singla, Co-Founder & COO of Shivom.