Orion Health joins with University of Auckland, Waitemata District Health Board, and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on $37.8 million research programme to position NZ as global leader in Precision Medicine

Auckland – Orion Health (NZX:OHE) today announces a multi-million dollar health technology research venture aimed at improving the healthcare of all New Zealanders through the advancement of precision medicine.

The Precision Driven Health research programme is a major public-private venture between industry, government and academia. The founding participants are Orion Health, Waitemata District Health Board and the University of Auckland, with support from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. It is intended that a combined $37.8 million will be invested in the programme over seven years in the new area of precision medicine.

Precision medicine is enabled when all information that is pertinent to a person’s health and wellbeing – clinical, genetic, device (e.g. fitness apps), environmental and lifestyle factors – is combined and made available to the health professional and the patient. This allows them to make the best decisions regarding the patient’s treatment plan.

“Precision medicine is the future of health. New Zealand can lead the world in this area,” says Ian McCrae, Orion Health CEO.

“Existing medical data sources are not sufficient to enable personalised care because past health care is not the sole predictor of someone’s future health – genetics, social circumstances, environmental exposure, and behavourial patterns all play a part,” he says.

“This research will offer the potential for improved patient health outcomes through care more precisely tailored to individual needs. This includes an improved suite of clinical decision support tools for doctors, the potential to more accurately predict disease risk factors and enabling patients to be in control of managing key risks to their health.”

Mr McCrae says he expects the results of the Precision Driven Health research venture to feed directly into Orion Health’s product roadmap in time. It will contribute to existing products such as Orion Health’s Amadeus platform, which includes the popular Rhapsody Integration Engine used by health providers globally.

“It is exciting how much potential this research has to transform healthcare; greatly improving treatment, and in some cases saving lives,” Mr McCrae says.

It is intended that over time Orion Health and industry participants will make up $23.8 million of the funding, which includes a personal contribution by Mr McCrae. This would then be matched by $14 million of funding through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s research partnerships programme.

Additional major commercial, healthcare provider and research participants are expected to join the venture in the coming months.


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Sarah Putt
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M: +64 21 610 592
E: sarah.putt@orionhealth.com