Swedish Government Invests in Precision Medicine Cancer Studies: FOCU.SE and SPRINTR Receive Major Funding
Key Insights
The Swedish government has allocated an additional SEK 20 million to Sahlgrenska University Hospital (search) for FOCU.SE (search), a national precision medicine study focused on drug repurposing for advanced cancer (search).
A separate SEK 12 million government grant will support SPRINTR (search), a prostate cancer (search) precision medicine initiative led by Umeå University and Norrland University Hospital (search), aiming to build a nationwide research platform.
FOCU.SE (search) is a platform study encompassing a trial, exploratory, and data component, testing approved drugs outside their original indications in collaboration with Genomic Medicine Sweden (search) and SciLifeLab (search).
The Swedish government has committed significant new funding to advance precision medicine in cancer care, with two complementary national initiatives—FOCU.SE (search) and SPRINTR (search)—receiving dedicated financial support aimed at improving individualized treatment and expanding clinical research infrastructure across the country.
SEK 20 Million for FOCU.SE (search): Drug Repurposing in Advanced Cancer (search)
The government is investing an additional SEK 20 million in Sahlgrenska University Hospital (search), Västra Götalandsregionen, for FOCU.SE (search), a national precision medicine study targeting advanced cancer (search). The announcement was shared by Richard Rosenquist Brandell, Director at Genomic Medicine Sweden (search).
"Through this initiative, we are creating better conditions for individualized cancer treatment. When existing drugs can be tested for new patient groups, we gain important knowledge that can benefit more patients," said Minister of Health Elisabet Lann.
FOCU.SE (search) is built on the principle of drug repurposing—testing approved drugs outside their original indications—and was initiated from Testbed Sweden Precision Health Cancer. The study represents a collaboration between Vision Zero Cancer, Genomic Medicine Sweden (search) (GMS), and SciLifeLab (search). Structured as a platform study, FOCU.SE comprises three integrated components: FOCU.SE Trial, FOCU.SE Explore, and FOCU.SE Data. The study is led by Edvard Abel alongside Anders Edsjö, Ebba Hallersjö Hult, Annika Baan, Päivi Östling, Janne Lehtiö, Richard Rosenquist Brandell, Katarzyna Kulbacka, Kristina Sonnevi, Rozina Caridha Lagerhorn, and others.
SEK 12 Million for SPRINTR (search): Building a National Prostate Cancer (search) Research Platform
Under the same government decision concerning initiatives in precision health and clinical trials, Genomic Medicine Sweden (search) and Biobank Sweden will also receive funding. A key beneficiary is SPRINTR (search) (Swedish Precision Medicine Initiative for Novel Treatment and Research), which has been allocated SEK 12 million through the National Board of Health and Welfare.
SPRINTR (search) aims to facilitate clinical cancer research by asking all patients being investigated for suspected prostate cancer (search) whether they would like to participate in an observational study. The procedure is designed to be simple and scalable for nationwide use, with at least 23 clinics—including all university hospitals—expected to begin enrolling patients during the year.
"We are very grateful for this support, which is specifically targeted at the elements and structures we are developing. Thanks to this, we can work both faster and on a broader scale with colleagues across the country to make this accessible to as many people as possible," said Andreas Josefsson, a medical specialist at Norrland University Hospital (search) and principal investigator for the study.
The SPRINTR (search) project, largely funded by the Sjöberg Foundation (search), seeks to identify better biomarkers that can predict prognosis and treatment response, while also assessing health economics and quality of life. These biomarkers span from MRI scans and digital pathology to molecular analyses of tissue samples collected during routine clinical practice.
"I am convinced that this research will provide answers to important clinical questions and lead to better and more personalised treatment for men with prostate cancer (search)," Josefsson added.
A 30-Year Vision with Scalable Infrastructure
The SPRINTR (search) study is planned to run for at least thirty years and aims to foster an open research environment where researchers can use data without the requirement of co-authorship by the principal investigator. A distinctive feature is the establishment of a "study-ready population," enabled by consent forms that include permission for collected information to be used for targeted invitations—potentially simplifying and increasing inclusion in future clinical trials.
The funding will also support a new approach in pathology designed to facilitate molecular profiling. "The funding makes it possible to expand capacity more quickly and evaluate molecular diagnostic methods, so that we achieve equal access to methods that can be used in future treatment decisions," explained Karin Welén, docent at the University of Gothenburg, who co-leads the project with Andreas Josefsson.
Complementary Initiatives Under One Ecosystem
Both SPRINTR (search) and FOCU.SE (search) are being developed as scalable models that can extend beyond their initial cancer focus. SPRINTR's working methods and IT systems are being built to be as generic as possible, with the explicit goal of adapting the structures to other forms of cancer. The project collaborates with organizations including Genomic Medicine Sweden (search), the INCA platform, and SciLifeLab (search), and is linked to national and international projects.
Umeå University and Region Västerbotten have built strong research environments in cancer, with SPRINTR (search) being one of several initiatives under the Umeå Comprehensive Cancer Centre (Umeå CCC), currently undergoing accreditation by the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI).
"We support this project and look forward with great anticipation to seeing how the SPRINTR (search) study and the FOCU.SE (search) study, from complementary angles, can develop and become scalable models that benefit shared structures in Sweden," said Patrik Rossi, Chair of the Comprehensive Cancer Centre Network Sweden. "One of the CCC's objectives is to support various initiatives that can complement one another so that, together, we can become an ecosystem for cancer research and development in Sweden."
"We are proud that this initiative is led by researchers at Norrland University Hospital (search). The concept being developed within the study can help ensure that several of the goals within the new national cancer strategy are achieved more quickly," added Pia Näsvall, Director of Health and Medical Care in Region Västerbotten.