Summary & goals
FinnGen combines genome and health data to understand human diseases
The purpose of the FinnGen study is to understand genetic disease associations and biological disease mechanisms and to use this understanding to develop improved treatments. The project began in 2017 with the goal to collect genotype data from 500 000 Finnish individuals and combine this with data from health registers. This goal of creating a genotype-phenotype data source was met in 2023 and FinnGen has used the data to discover more than 20 000 associations between genetic variants and diseases. Currently, FinnGen is focusing on the mechanistic consequences of the identified variants and the progression of the common diseases they are involved in.
FinnGen leads the way as a co-creative public-private partnership
FinnGen is based on the idea of a cooperation model, where partners from the academic sector join forces with the pharmaceutical industry to approach drug development using genetic discoveries. FinnGen’s way of co-creation is unique globally. Establishing a productive partnership has been a cornerstone for successfully implementing the project in a way that research supports the development of new therapeutics.
FinnGen evolves through three phases
During its first six years, during FinnGen 1 and 2 (2017-2023), FinnGen collected samples and data from Finnish biobanks and health registers producing data for 20 million genetic variants, defined 2500 disease endpoints and provided analysis results on associations between ca. 20 000 genetic variants and disease risks.
In its third phase, FinnGen dives deeper into deciphering the mechanisms underlying the reasons the variants discovered in phases 1 and 2 influence disease risk. It also looks at a selection of common diseases and how genetics influences their progression. For these purposes, FinnGen is enriching its data set with clinical and other -omics data.