The history of COSMIC
COSMIC (Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer) was set up in the Cancer Programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute by Professor Sir Mike Stratton and Professor Andy Futreal and their team in 2004.
At the time, cancer data was embedded in the scientific literature, and it could take months for researchers to extract information in meaningful ways.
As the volume of genomic sequencing increased, navigating the vast extent of data only became more challenging. It was with this challenge in mind that the COSMIC database was established, to create and capture that data and then add further layers of knowledge and actionable cancer insights in a standardised format. Today, COSMIC is an integral part of the cancer research ecosystem.
The evolution of COSMIC and our team
COSMIC (Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer) was launched on World Cancer Day in 2004. It contained four gene transcripts (BRAF, KRAS, NRAS and HRAS), 67,000 samples and 10,000 coding mutations.
Over time, our team of dedicated post-doctoral level Scientific Curators have adapted COSMIC into an expansive, diverse range of datasets and tools, reflective of the ever-changing landscape of genetic cancer research.
In tandem, the COSMIC team has evolved, gaining expertise in a range of disciplines that allows for meticulous data interpretation, packaged in accessible and standardised formats. This evolution was behind the development of CGC Hallmarks annotations in 2017, COSMIC 3D in 2018, the Cancer Mutation Census in 2020 and Actionability in 2021.
Academic and commercial use
COSMIC is part of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and provides its data free for academic research.
In 2021, COSMIC began a partnership with QIAGEN to distribute its licence to commercial users.
The funds derived from this partnership allow us to maintain and further develop the COSMIC Knowledgebase. This ensures our data will be available to support and advance the scientific, pharmaceutical, biotech and health sectors for years to come.
Today, motivated by our mission: Uniting academic, industry and clinical data to enable the fight against cancer, our team continues to innovate and advance the COSMIC database.
