A $2 million Medi-Cal pilot program called “Project Baby Bear,” is the first California state-funded program to offer rapid whole genome sequencing (WGS) for critically ill newborns.
UC Davis Children's Hospital recently announced it would join the project, which will provide genome testing for babies under a year of age who are hospitalized in intensive care and suspected of having a genetic or genomic disorder. The project launched at Rady's Children's Hospital in San Diego last September and four hospitals are currently participating statewide.
UC Davis Children's Hospital is expected to enroll about 30 to 40 patients before June 2019. It is not a research study, but rather a feasibility clinical pilot project.
“We are really excited about the opportunity to be part of Project Baby Bear. The application of a rapid WGS genetic test will save time in obtaining accurate diagnoses for patients. Time is of the essence in neonates and infants. Often with genetic tests, we are waiting for months to get an answer,” said Suma Shankar, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and director of the UC Davis Precision Genomics Clinic, in a prepared statement. She added that the turnaround time for test results with Project Baby Bear is just three to five days and may provide answers that will help in the management of acutely ill patients in the neonatal intensive care unit and pedatric intensive care unit.
The UC Davis Precision Genomics Clinic already uses whole genome sequencing for children with undiagnosed, often congenital, conditions to find the underlying genetic causes and improve their care. This project will provide access to Medi-Cal patients.
"Next-generation sequencing is changing how we diagnose, treat and manage our patients,” said Katherine Rauen, chief of genomic medicine at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, in a statement. “This pilot project has the potential to alter the landscape not only in pediatric medicine but also in medicine as a whole, and Dr. Shankar is the perfect person to be at the helm of this project.”
