Covid-19 might open the door for greater advances in precision medicine

UK start-up PrecisionLife has discovered scores of genes linked to some of the more serious symptoms of Covid-19. Additionally, the company has identified existing medicines that could be used to treat the specific symptoms of the virus. The application of artificial intelligence is the key technology that has allowed the comparison of huge genetic data sets with the mutations in our DNA that are linked with disease.

There’s currently a shortage of computer scientists able to develop the systems capable of this kind of data analysis, holding precision medicine back. To address these challenges, the UK’s first precision medicine incubator and accelerator has been launched by collaboration between University College London, Barclays andCapital Enterprise. The P4 Precision Medicine Accelerator Programme will allow start-ups to test their innovations, and objectively assess their efficacy.