ARC Portal receives $6.7 million funding boost over 4 years
February 26, 2025
BioGrid Australia welcomes the Federal Government’s commitment of $6.7 million in funding over the next four years to the Australian Rare Cancer (ARC) Portal, a ground-breaking platform that provides life-saving access to specialist care for Australians living with rare cancers, especially those in rural and regional areas.
The ARC Portal is an innovative online service that connects rare cancer patients to a network of expert specialists, clinical trials, and new treatments—all while allowing patients to remain with their local healthcare providers. This funding is a significant step forward in ensuring equitable access to the best possible care, regardless of where patients live.
Maureen Turner, CEO of BioGrid Australia, said the company is honoured to be supporting such an important initiative for overcoming the ‘tyranny of distance’ that impacts rare cancer knowledge and treatment.
“BioGrid Australia is uniquely positioned to support the ARC Portal by facilitating secure links for cancer specialists to expert advice, research opportunities, and clinical trial options, whilst maintaining patient confidentiality,” said Ms Turner.
“We have twenty years of experience providing secure data linkage services for sensitive clinical data across distributed locations, and we’re the only enduring collaboration network in Australia with the legal and ethical framework to enable this.
“The doctors and their patients who use the ARC Portal’s referral services can be confident that their data is in good hands,” Ms Turner confirmed.
“The ARC Portal is exactly the type of innovative, patient-centric initiative that BioGrid was created for, changing the paradigm of isolated clinical practice and data analysis, and we are now seeing how this translates into a tangible, positive impact for both doctors and patients who need help, regardless of where they are located,” she concluded.
The funding is also going to allow for a targeted expansion throughout Queensland to provide care to people in remote areas, through a partnership with Cancer Alliance Queensland and others. This will mean better access to specialty care for Queenslanders with rare cancers.
Key Partners and Supporting Organisations of the ARC Portal include Rare Cancers Australia, The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia, The NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne Health, Sunshine Coast University Hospital, BioGrid Australia, and Omico.
