Op ed: Cracking cancer with code

Professor Walter Kolch, Director of Precision Oncology Ireland and Systems Biology Ireland

Computing and AI are changing the world and healthcare is no exception. At the cutting edge is Precision Medicine, also called Personalised Medicine, driven by data and computer models. Ireland’s healthcare system is behind and needs to catch up by introducing enabling clinical infrastructure such as IT-based records and genome sequencing.

However, this country has unique strengths that could make it a leader in computational medical and biological sciences. What we need to do to realise this opportunity is to assemble these unique strengths into a broad collaboration of skills and expertise that can turn the tide.

We have good reasons to do that. Ireland has one of the highest cancer rates in the EU and rising. Cancer is now the number one killer in Ireland, having surpassed heart disease. As the current 10-year National Cancer Strategy is coming to an end in 2026, we face a tsunami of cancer for which we need faster diagnoses and better treatments, but we also face real opportunities thanks to the unique resources we possess in Ireland – specifically our expertise in computational modelling, including AI, and our developed technology infrastructure, with many data centres and resident tech partners.

So what is Precision (or Personalised) oncology? Ten years ago, it meant  sequencing the genome of a person and their cancer cells to map the genomic mutations that may cause the disease process in that person. Now, it has advanced. Thanks to elaborate computational methods that combine AI, statistics and biophysical models, we can integrate a wealth of data on each individual patient – genome sequence, gene expression, data on the abundance of proteins and metabolites, images and clinical data. We then can use these data to run computational models – or ‘digital twin’ simulations – to precisely diagnose what is wrong with a patient and find the most effective treatment for them.

This is Personalised Medicine which, in cancer care, means treatments that lead to the best possible patient outcomes including reducing toxicity and minimising risk from secondary illness and relapse. The computational tools and the expertise are right there in Ireland. The challenge and opportunity is to speed-date them with the clinical needs. 

Encouragingly, due to new partnership models this matchmaking is happening.  We have just launched the first ever clinical genomics and ‘digital twin’ cancer study in Ireland, called MAGIC-I. Every child and young adult with cancer on the island of Ireland can enrol in the study at no cost. MAGIC-I will run over the next five years and aims to set a blueprint for what is possible technologically – how we can seamlessly deploy the power of computational modelling to clinical problems, and how we can make these achievements accessible to everyone.

The main Irish research funding agency, Research Ireland, already has developed innovative co-funding models, which bring academia, charities, philanthropy and industry together to address the big challenges that our society is facing over the next decade. Cancer is a major one. That means investing in programmes like Precision Oncology Ireland (POI, which bring advances in basic research to real patients in clinics and hospitals. 

This brings me to a key strength in the Irish oncology ecosystem. POI is a multilateral strategic partnership between research institutions (universities, hospitals), charities and industry, which is unique in the world. Developing a rich ecosystem based on this partnership model puts us in a competitive position – it makes Ireland an attractive destination for expert researchers and companies.

Research is healthcare

Being research intensive is an advantage. We are seeing world leading expertise coming back from the US, from Australia and other places which are highly research intense. Clinical and research leaders want to do research in Ireland and we should do all we can to encourage this further. The key is to invest into clinician-scientist programmes. Medicine has always learned from patients. In the future, we will need to learn more from and with patients.  

In terms of benefits to patients, the numbers speak for themselves. Patients treated in research active hospitals achieve better outcomes than those treated in non-research active hospitals - 15 per cent better, on average. It is a fact that being treated for cancer in a research active hospital considerably increases your chances of surviving cancer.

Ireland needs to capitalise on its biggest strategic advantages in turning the tide against the cancer tsunami. Our special approach that integrates leading edge computational and AI methods with a unique strategic partnership model will help us face down the threat of cancer and seize the opportunity for our society and economy.

Developing our cancer research ecosystem gives Ireland an opportunity to diversify.

Professor William Gallagher, Lead of UCD Cancer Research Consortium and Co-Lead of the All-Island Cancer Research Institute (AIRCI)

Recent events in the world have exposed an over reliance on manufacturing within the life sciences. We haven’t explored the full potential of drug discovery R&D but this is the critical time to look at it now and properly invest.

Comparing north and south of the border, there's been a greater focus on early stage life science companies in Northern Ireland. This shields their life science sector somewhat from economic shocks affecting trade, unlike the Republic of Ireland which is highly exposed due to our over-reliance on pharma product manufacturing.

We should envisage a richer and broader context for life science industry, enabled by research based on strategic partnerships that focuses across the value chain from early stage discovery to clinical application.

We can expand on the ample research already underway in drug target identification. We can become leaders in the personalisation of drug discovery as our computational methods allow us to predict whom a drug will benefit, what side effects will be a challenge, and which drug resistance mechanisms will be met.

Moreover, we can move to build an ecosystem that bridges that gap between discovery and translation, improving patient care and  providing more opportunities for a richer life science industry.

AICRI Oncology Industry Landscape Report 
(April 2024) 

In a new market research report, the global oncology market was valued at €283.90bn in 2024, calculated at €314.84bn in 2025, and is expected to reach around €798.87bn by 2034, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9%. 

The AICRI report, which was supported by InterTrade Ireland, found diagnostics and digital markets are experiencing unprecedented growth, with CAGRs of over 19%, key drivers of which include plummeting genomics sequencing costs and the pharmaceutical industry’s rapid adoption of cloud-based solutions and AI-driven technologies. 

The report found a notable difference between the size of the global oncology market and the
market served by companies with a presence on the island of Ireland, which is valued at over €2.37tn – an over tenfold difference. This difference primarily stems from the significant presence of multinational allied digital health companies and pharmaceutical companies. The top five companies specialise in device and digital healthcare, which collectively generate a global revenue of €1.4tn.  

The AICRI report, which was jointly launched last year by respective Ministers of the Economy from Ireland and Northern Ireland, provided a series of recommendations to encourage further growth of this key sector on the island of Ireland, including the establishment of an All-Island Oncology Innovation Cluster.

Compound Annual Growth Rate by sector (CAGR) 2022 to 2032

(sources: IMed Consultancy, Skyquest, Precedence Research, Market Reports World, Global Market Insights)