IT firms speeding COVID-19 gene research

Intel, Lenovo and BGI Genomics are working together to accelerate the analysis of the genomic characteristics of COVID-19. This will be helpful in developing an effective vaccine or treatment in the future, the three companies said on Tuesday. 

Intel is the world's biggest computing chipmaker while Lenovo is China's biggest computer maker. The IT giants, with BGI Genomics as China's top gene company, aim to use computing technologies to decode the virus and speed the development of related medicine.

Intel and Lenovo are providing BGI Genomics with information infrastructures to help researchers access high-performance computing capabilities and genomics analytics technologies. 

This will support scientists investigating virulence, transmission patterns and host-pathogen interactions, which will inform epidemiological and vaccine design studies to prevent future outbreaks. 

It will also by helpful to identify potential targets to develop an effective vaccine or treatment. With the technology, BGI Genomics can optimize computing and data processes by about 40 times to generate reliable genomic analysis results faster and reduce the time for scientific and clinical observation, the companies said.

“Experts in big data analytics and life sciences from Intel and Lenovo will integrate our resources and expertise, help address the critical challenges and drive the development of health and life sciences,” said Tong Fuyao, Lenovo’s senior vice president.

BGI Genomics, which has sequenced hundreds of clinical samples to analyze and distinguish the infection, said the equipment and technology will speed up identification of COVID-19 infection and the study of virus genome characteristics. It provides strong support for accurate diagnosis, treatment and epidemic prevention of COVID-19, the Shenzhen-based company said.