The European Union has launched Genome of Europe, an initiative destined to become the largest study ever conducted on the DNA of the inhabitants of the old continent. With an objective that could revolutionize personalized medicine, the project aims to develop the first European reference genome, opening new frontiers in prevention, diagnosis, and targeted therapies.
Italy plays a key role. Thanks to the collaboration of Human Technopole, Elixir Italia coordinated by the National Research Council and the Centro Cardiologico Monzino IRCCS, it will contribute to collecting and sequencing approximately 15,800 genomes from existing national biobanks.
Genome of Europe involves more than 100 researchers and experts from 49 institutions across 27 countries. In its initial phase, the plan will be supported by €45 million in funding, €20 million of which is provided directly by the European Union. Over three and a half years, the database will house 100,000 fully sequenced genomes, representative of the 40 main European subpopulations, but subsequently, the database will expand to reach 500,000 genotypes.
According to Gualtiero Colombo, Director of the Laboratory of Immunology and Functional Genomics at Monzino and the scientific lead of the Italian research, the initiative will have “a transformative effect on European healthcare.” Specifically, it is expected to have an immediate impact on the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases, but the real revolution is expected to concern predictive genomics.
“This project will be able to create a sort of personal genetic identity card,” Colombo explains. “Knowing the risk of developing a disease and the individual response to drugs, including the risk of side effects, will radically change the clinical approach. We will be able to focus interventions on patients who will actually benefit from them and reduce unnecessary and costly treatments.”
With Genome of Europe, science is redefining the future of healthcare, where precision and personalization will become the new normal. Italy, on the front line, will contribute to building a resource that will not only revolutionize European medicine but also set a model for the rest of the world.
