Bioinformatics allows us to analyze huge amounts of data. It speeds up diagnostics. It pushes vaccine development. During the COVID-19 pandemic, bioinformatics technologies reduced the time it took to develop a vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine was created in 42 days. In the first three months of the pandemic, more than 100.000 viral genomes were decoded. This was an important step in developing global solutions.
Virus Genome Analysis
Bioinformatics is used to analyze genomes. It helps to identify mutations. Identify dangerous strains. The SARS-CoV-2 genome was decoded in 10 days. Decoding the genome accelerated the creation of test systems. It also helped to identify new variants of the virus. In 2024, more than 2.000 virus mutations were recorded in Europe. Bioinformatics allows us to track their spread. In 2024, bioinformatics data helped to detect a virus strain resistant to existing drugs. This prevented mass infection.
Drug Development
Bioinformatics methods speed up drug development. Algorithms find potential targets for therapy. It used to take months to analyze a single compound. Today, it takes days. An example is the Moderna vaccine. It was developed in 63 days. In 2023, three new vaccines were created in Europe using bioinformatics. In Italy, a platform was introduced that reduced the cost of data analysis by 30%. This made the process accessible to medical institutions.
Predicting Epidemics
Bioinformatics helps predict epidemics. It analyzes data on the spread of infections. This includes information on weather and human migration. Algorithms predicted the Ebola outbreak in Africa. In Europe, algorithms helped reduce the incidence of influenza by 15%. Technologies also help model epidemic scenarios.
Examples of Successful Application
In 2022, bioinformatics helped in the fight against monkeypox. Algorithms identified dangerous strains in a few days. This allowed test systems to be quickly created. In Germany, 10 new tests based on bioinformatics were developed. As a result, the outbreak was localized in 2 months. In the UK, a bioinformatics system helped reduce the time to diagnose infections by 50%.
Postscript
- Genome sequencing: The cost of sequencing a virus genome has dropped from €1.000 in 2014 to less than €100 in 2024, increasing the availability of data for analysis.
- Bioinformatics-based vaccines: In 2024, more than 70% of new vaccines in the EU were created using bioinformatics algorithms.
- Test efficiency: Bioinformatics-based tests can detect infections with 98% accuracy, 15% higher than traditional methods.
- Accelerating research: The time needed to analyze drug interactions with virus proteins has been reduced from 6 months to 2 weeks thanks to new algorithms.
- Global database: More than 50.000 new virus genome sequences are added to the GISAID platform every day.
- Cyberthreats and bioinformatics: More than 2.000 hacker attacks were recorded in 2023 targeting bioinformatics databases.
- Pandemic forecasts: Bioinformatics technologies have helped reduce the response time to global threats from 3 months to 3 weeks, according to a WHO report.
- Bioinformatics investment: Bioinformatics investment in the EU will reach €10 billion in 2025, up 50% from 2020.
- Drug development: Bioinformatics accelerated the entry of 12 new antiviral drugs into the EU market in 2024.
- Mobile solutions: More than 100 mobile apps for bioinformatics data analysis are available to doctors and researchers in the EU in 2023.