The Chinese government is in the final stages of beginning a precision medicine initiative aimed toward creating a strong Chinese presence in the field of genome sequencing. Expected to be formally announced in March as part of the government’s next Five-Year Plan (2016–2020), preliminary estimates for funding of the initiative are around ¥60 billion ($9.2 billion). Zhan Qimin, director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology at Peking Union Medical College, speculates that with the hundreds of projects that will require genome sequencing and clinical data collection, each will likely require funding ranging from ¥10 million to ¥100 million. The initiative will replace two grant programs known as 863 and 973, which are expected to be phased out by 2017. Many genome sequencing companies are working to provide services for Chinese demand, especially since the initiative is expected to sequence genomes and identify mutations quicker than the US due to a larger population providing sufficient numbers for R&D.

Source: Nature