Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very fond of rockstars like Bob Dylan and The Band, Jimmy Barnes and Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil and Peter Garrett, the Church et cetera. But there was another rockstar in the building today. Today I went to release of Omico's impact scorecard. Omico is a publicly funded organisation, a not-for-profit organisation, whose founder, Professor David Thomas, is a rockstar in the medical world. It is a great time to be part of health care in this country. There are some amazing advances happening with genetically targeted treatments for conditions that were previously fatal in the paediatric world that have turned the world upside down for many of those patients with conditions like cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy and others.

In a world of cancer medicine, David Thomas is a rockstar. He works at the University of New South Wales. He is the inaugural director of the Centre for Molecular Oncology—Omico. He has provided some amazing new treatments funded through the federal government, our government, and other partners that are changing the lives of many people with terminal and rare cancers. These treatments use biomarkers that are discovered using genetic and biochemical tests to assess the receptors on the cancer genes in cancer cells that make them grow out of control. We can use targeted treatments to improve outcomes, reduce cancer growth and, in some cases, get rid of the cancer altogether in previously fatal cancers.

Omico works across many different spaces. In fact, they are conducting 118 clinical trials. They work in 80 cancer centres around the country, from the Peter MacCallum Institute in Victoria to the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Around the country, they are doing a lot of amazing work with people who previously had incurable cancers. After their almost 10 years of existence, we heard some life stories today at their launch and it is a real credit to Professor David Thomas. We have cutting-edge genomic technologies that are turning into tangible therapeutic advancements for Australians with challenging cancers, improving outcomes across the board. We are seeing tremendous strides in the development and understanding of cancer care.

Through the work of people like Professor David Thomas, Jane Tiller and the team, Omico is really changing lives of many people. There is Professor David Thomas, who is the founder and chief scientific officer. Paul Jeans was the chair who will be handing over to Richard Vines. They are really doing amazing work. It started in 2016 and is giving mainstream access for free to some of these amazing new technologies and, really, the future looks very good for many of these people.

Ian Black, the CEO, says, 'The science is proven, the infrastructure is built and the partnerships are in place for national leadership and dramatic changes in cancer treatment. The PrOSPeCT program is giving people access across the country to these treatments, and Omico will be central to the development of even better treatments in the future.' Almost 30,000 people have had their cancer genomics tested and have been enrolled in the Omico program. It is giving equitable access; people do not pay for these tests and treatments. There are many lives that have been extended and many families who have prospered because of survival times for their loved ones with cancer.

There are many lives that have been extended and many families who have prospered because of survival times for their loved ones with cancer. It is really a remarkable, remarkable time to be involved in medicine in Australia. Omico, led by Professor David Thomas, is leading us into a really bright future in medicine in Australia and I congratulate him and his team for the wonderful advances that really are opening a new world for cancer treatment in Australia.

I'm very proud to have had some involvement in this program since its inception. I congratulate all the Omico team. I look forward to working with them in the future, and I look forward to our government continuing to help fund their remarkable treatments and the remarkable way they are changing lives.

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