The Norwegian Minister of Health has in the Commission documents for 2019 and 2020 explicitly asked for initiatives that can accelerate the implementation of PCM both for research and standard patient care in the Norwegian Health Care system. The Regional Health Authorities initiated funding of infrastructure for precision diagnostics (InPreD) to implement use of gene-panels and other molecular biomarkers in pathology laboratories. In addition, they funded IMPRESS-Norway (together with several others) and also asked the HTA-authorities to explore new and adaptive models to facilitate introduction of PCM in standard cancer care in the Norwegian Health Care system. Thus, IMPRESS-Norway trial has substantial backing both from the political and administrative national health authorities.

IMPRESS-Norway is a researcher-initiated clinical trial with public support and industry involvement through sourcing of free drugs and support per included patient with its own budget and agreements. The trial is supported by the public infrastructure for molecular cancer diagnostics (InPreD) which will include a national molecular tumour board that serves clinical trials like IMPRESS-Norway. In addition, a public-private partnership for PCM, Norwegian Precision Cancer Medicine Implementation Consortium (CONNECT), is established. This public-private partnership goes beyond the IMPRESS trial, and brings together all stakeholders to set up working groups for observing and discussing the work in InPreD and IMPRESS and for discussions on novel implementation methods for PCM in the Norwegian health care system and HTA assessments as well as data governance and access on a more general level. Learning and discussion topics will include availability of data in PCM and how will the evidence look like, use of RWE data and control cohorts, dynamic HTA assessments and methodology, pay-for-performance models, ongoing HTA evaluations and pricing structure and evaluation of PCM algorithms and strategy

Read more about the Norwegian initiatives for implementation of precision medicine in Taskén K,. et al. A national precision cancer medicine implementation initiative for Norway. Nat Med. 2022 May;28(5):885-887.