Institut Curie names Intel lead partner to implement high performance computing and artificial intelligence in accelerating genome sequencing and interpretation for oncology
Precision medicine for cancers requires the delivery of individually adapted medical care based on the genetic characteristics of each patient. The last decade witnessed the development of high-throughput technologies such as next-generation sequencing which paved their way in the field of oncology. While the cost of these technologies decreases, we are facing an exponential increase in the amount of data produced. In order to open the access to more and more patients to precision medicine based therapies, healthcare providers have to rationalize both their data production and utilization and this requires the implementation of the cutting-edge technology of high performance computing and artificial intelligence.
Before taking a therapeutic decision based on the genome interpretation of a cancer, the physician can be presented with an overwhelming number of genes variants. In order to identify key actionable variants that can be targeted by treatments, the physician needs tools to sift through this large volume of variants. While the use of AI in genome interpretation is still nascent it is growing rapidly acting as a filter to dramatically reduce the number of variants, providing invaluable help to the physician. The mastering of high performance computing methods on modern hardware infrastructure is becoming a key factor of the cancer genome interpretation process while being efficient, cost effective and adjustable over time.
The pioneer collaboration initiated between the Curie Institute Bioinformatics platform and Intel aims at answering those challenges by defining a leading model in France and Europe. This collaboration will grant Institut Curie access to Intel experts for defining high performance and artificial intelligence computing infrastructure and ensuring its optimization in order to implement the Intel Genomics ecosystem partner solutions and best practices as for example the Broad Institute for Cancer Genomics pipeline optimization. It is also anticipated the development of additional tailored tools that are needed to integrate and analyze heterogeneous biomedical data. The collaboration will implement Intel® Select Solutions for Genomics Analytics based on Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors and Intel® Omni-Path Architecture.
“Artificial intelligence holds great promise for medical progress including genomics,” said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. “The Intel – Institut Curie collaboration is one more example of Intel’s commitment to the development of bold artificial intelligence research for the good of humanity.”
“Collaborating with Intel, Institut Curie will develop, use and implement Innovative Bioinformatics technologies to improve time to diagnosis, diagnostic accuracy, targeted treatment recommendations and provide a better understanding of application needs to develop features that are needed for the healthcare sector” adds Emmanuel Barillot, Head of the Institut Curie Bioinformatics platform and Director of the Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Computational systems research Unit (U900, Institut Curie /INSERM/ Mines Paris Tech).
Amaury Martin, Head of Institut Curie Technology Transfer and Industrial Partnerships Office and Director of the Institut Carnot Curie Cancer says: " This agreement with Intel, the world leader in the sector, marks a major step in the collaboration between Institut Curie and companies. It is a mark of recognition for the Institut Curie in the field of genetics, bioinformatics and precision medicine and its unique model ranging from basic research to care. This agreement is undeniably an additional asset for the success of the Paris region platform SeqOIA co-founded between the APHP, Gustave-Roussy and Institut Curie within the framework of the France Medicine Genomic 2025 Plan “
