After four years of preparation and debate the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was approved by the European Union Parliament on 14 April 2016. The enforcement date is 25 May 2018, at which time those organizations in non-compliance may face heavy fines.

In February 2018, NordForsk released the report 'Nordic biobanks and registers - A basis for innovative research on health and welfare.' It gives an overview of "current knowledge on cross-border development of research that uses Nordic registers, biobanks and clinical studies, and includes suggestions for policy implications.'

NordForsk and research funders in the Nordic countries have issued a call for research proposals entitled, Innovations in Personalised Medicine: Towards implementation of personalised medicine in health care. Applications are due 4 September 2018.

The inaugural meeting of the Nordic Society for Precision Medicine took place in Reykjavik, Iceland, on June 7 and 8, 2018.