Press Release

On the 15th of February 2019, Tartu Biotechnology Cluster together with biotechnology and personalized medicine investment expert Kadri Vunder, held a seminar „Using Estonian health and genetic data to improve the effectiveness and quality of the healthcare service and development of drugs and medical technologies – where are we now and how to go forward?“. The discussion round included, among others, the members of board of Tartu University Clinic Priit Eelmäe and North Estonia Medical Centre Terje Peetso, the Deputy Director for E-health and Innovation Under the Social Ministry Kalle Killar and the deputy director of Estonian Genome Center Tõnu Esko.

The aim of the seminar was to map the current situation in using health and genetic data and discuss potential activities in the future.

The data gathered by Estonian Genome Center has a great value, but to get the most value from it, a model for collaboration with both Estonian and foreign companies must be developed.

To reveal the full potential of the genomic data, the opportunity to analyze them together with the high-quality and structured clinical data is needed. Currently, there is no unified view for registering clinical data in Estonia. Terje Peetso suggested a discussion between hospitals and specialty doctors to unify the data collection. The participants of the meeting decided that Tartu Biotechnology Cluster would be a suitable organization to start and coordinate this process.

Additional information:
Sven Parkel
Tartu Biotechnology Cluster
Tel. +37256635577