Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine (RCIGM) has announced a groundbreaking international collaboration with Sidra Medicine in Qatar to implement its genome-based newborn screening program, BeginNGS. This partnership marks the first international expansion of the program, which aims to identify and treat genetic disorders before symptoms appear in newborns.
Addressing the Diagnostic Odyssey
The collaboration addresses a critical healthcare challenge where families face lengthy diagnostic journeys for childhood genetic diseases. According to Dr. Ammira Al-Shabeeb Akil, Principal Investigator at Sidra Medicine, "Families often face a diagnostic odyssey for childhood genetic diseases, whereby children wait, on average, five years for the genetic disease causing their symptoms to be diagnosed."
Dr. Al-Shabeeb Akil, who leads the Metabolic and Mendelian Clinical-Translational Research Programs and heads the Precision Genomics and Translational Omics Lab at Sidra Medicine, brings extensive experience from establishing Qatar's first large-scale newborn genome screening initiative, NOOR-QATAR.
Proven Technology Platform
BeginNGS has demonstrated significant clinical impact through recent research published in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The studies show that the BeginNGS technology platform reduces false positives by 97 percent, diagnoses genetic diseases earlier, and benefits one in 13 infants who might otherwise experience tragic outcomes.
Currently, BeginNGS screens for 511 severe childhood genetic diseases with effective interventions at multiple hospitals across the United States. The program was launched by RCIGM and its founding partners in 2022 and is designed to prevent or minimize the effects of hundreds of childhood genetic diseases by identifying at-risk babies and recommending effective therapies before symptoms arise.
Global Expansion Strategy
Stephen Kingsmore, MD, DSc, President & CEO of RCIGM, emphasized the importance of international expansion: "Expanding internationally is critical for our understanding of the incidence of rare diseases across different geographies and to identify appropriate, available treatments at or before the onset of symptoms."
The Qatar collaboration will enable the BeginNGS program to broaden its approach to health equity through pilot studies that add diseases and genetic causes tailored to meet the regional population's specific needs. Kingsmore noted that their shared vision is for Qatar "to be among the first countries in the world to make the benefits of newborn therapies for severe childhood diseases available to every citizen."
Ambitious 2030 Goals
As the BeginNGS program scales globally, Consortium members support the ambitious goal of implementing screening for 1,000 diseases in at least 10 countries by 2030. Tom DeFay, PhD, Vice Chair of BeginNGS and Deputy Head of Diagnostics at Alexion, highlighted the health equity implications: "Living with a rare disease is inherently inequitable, but by lessening the burden of the diagnostic odyssey, we can advance health equity solutions for patients with genetically based rare diseases and their families."
Consortium-Driven Innovation
The BeginNGS program operates through a consortium model comprising leading organizations in healthcare delivery, biopharma, biotech, information technology, and patient advocacy. These partners work together to create a new ecosystem for genome-informed healthcare delivery that can scale to meet the needs of countries worldwide.
Sidra Medicine's Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, recognized as being at the forefront of genomic medicine research in the region, offers comprehensive care for patients affected by inherited or rare genetic conditions. Dr. Al-Shabeeb Akil expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration's potential: "Sidra Medicine is delighted to join the BeginNGS Consortium as this newborn screening program has the potential to save lives by identifying rare diseases and aligning treatments at the very beginning of life, and to become a model for precision medicine for childhood genetic disease in the region."
