PROMISE brings Sweden together for precision medicine

PROMISE is a national initiative combining advanced molecular technologies, AI and Sweden’s health data resources to advance precision medicine. By bringing together research, healthcare, infrastructure and industry, the initiative aims to improve disease prediction, prevention and treatment – while strengthening Sweden’s position in life science.

Tuuli Lappalainen, Scientific Director, PROMISE and Professor KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

What is PROMISE, and what is its overall vision for precision medicine in Sweden?

Tuuli Lappalainen, Scientific Director, PROMISE and Professor KTH Royal Institute of Technology:

– PROMISE (Precision Omics Initiative Sweden) is gaining momentum as a national initiative to transform how diseases are understood, prevented, and treated by combining next-generation molecular technologies, artificial intelligence, and Sweden's unique health data resources. Last autumn, PROMISE secured planning grants from both Vinnova and the Swedish Research Council's Cluster of Excellence programme, enabling an intensive development phase to build a nationally coordinated programme that strengthens Sweden's long-term capacity for precision omics research, innovation, and implementation.

Sanna Gudmundsson, Head of Scientific Programs, PROMISE and Assistant Professor, Karolinska Institutet.

What progress has PROMISE made over the past year?

Sanna Gudmundsson, Head of Scientific Programs, PROMISE and Assistant Professor, Karolinska Institutet:

– Over the past academic year, the consortium has focused on building the foundations for a truly national initiative. A major effort has focused on coordinating Sweden's leading population cohorts, establishing a shared overview of available molecular and health data, and identifying opportunities for harmonisation and future data generation. The consortium currently brings together 15 cohorts, representing nearly 400,000 omics data from more than 293,000 individuals, creating one of the world's strongest resources for longitudinal precision medicine research.

Planning is also underway for new participant recruitment and prospective sample collection, ensuring that future molecular technologies can be evaluated in well-designed cohorts and clinical studies. Beyond this, we are organising a one-day symposium, "The PROMISE Initiative: Accelerating Cancer Innovation," in Uppsala on 13 October.

How is PROMISE positioning Sweden in the international precision medicine landscape?

Sanna Gudmundsson:

– Prior and ongoing efforts provide the proof of concept, early discoveries, partnerships, and foundational building blocks PROMISE can leverage for global success. PROMISE has established international collaborations with nine sister initiatives, including the Danish National Genome Center, Genome Canada, Estonian Biobank, FinnGen, Genomics England, and Our Future Health, as well as the new Nordics AI-driven precision medicine initiative. PROMISE will also strengthen Sweden's contribution to major European and global initiatives, including 1+MG, FEGA, and GDI.

Richard Rosenquist Brandell, Translation Director, PROMISE, Professor, Karolinska Institutet.

What are the next steps for PROMISE?

Richard Rosenquist Brandell, Translation Director, PROMISE, Professor Karolinska Institutet:

– PROMISE has now submitted a full application to the Swedish Research Council's Cluster of Excellence programme, a 10-year investment that aims to establish Sweden as a world-leading environment for technology-driven precision medicine. The programme will integrate breakthrough omics technologies, large-scale computational methods, and healthcare data to enable comprehensive mapping of health and disease over time. By identifying molecular changes before disease develops, PROMISE aims to improve risk prediction, enable earlier interventions, and accelerate the development of more personalised prevention and treatment strategies.

  Which disease areas will PROMISE focus on first?

Richard Rosenquist Brandell:

– The scientific programme is currently being organised around several flagship projects that will demonstrate the impact of the technologies across major disease areas. Initial priorities include pharmacogenomics, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, haematological malignancies, and additional cancer applications. Here, advanced molecular profiling and AI can address important unmet clinical needs while also driving technology development across the broader programme.

How will PROMISE benefit Sweden's life science ecosystem?

Tuuli Lappalainen:

– PROMISE brings together pioneering researchers, healthcare providers, national research infrastructures, industry partners, innovators, and patient representatives to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into healthcare and societal benefit. Alongside its research programme, PROMISE places a strong emphasis on innovation by developing scalable technologies, AI-enabled data platforms, and validation frameworks that support commercialisation, new company formation, industrial collaboration, and faster implementation of precision medicine in Swedish healthcare. Together, these efforts will establish the national precision omics innovation hub that Sweden currently lacks and strengthen the country's international competitiveness in life science.