site.btaGovernment to Finance Genomic Data Collection with Lv 3 Mln

ESD 16:09:31 30-08-2021
DD1612ES.118
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Government to Finance
Genomic Data Collection
with Lv 3 Mln


August 30 (BTA) - At least 3 million leva are needed to generate the first 1,000 genomes with which Bulgaria will participate in the Genome of Europe project connected with the 1+Million Genomes Initiative, the Education and Science Ministry said on Monday. The financing will come from the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructure 2017-2023, with 1 million leva provided by the year's end and 2 million leva budgeted for 2022.

This emerged during Monday's visit by Prime Minister Stefan Yanev and Education and Science Minister Nikolai Denkov at the Molecular Medicine Centre and the Department of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Medical University of Sofia. They are part of the National University Complex for Biomedical and Applied Research, which comprises infrastructure for fundamental and applied biomedical research at the Medical Universities of Sofia and Plovdiv.

Bulgaria is part of the 1+MG initiative, which aims to collect one million genomes in the EU by the end of 2022. The participants, 22 EU countries, the UK and Norway, are to generate a unique national reference set of sequenced genomes for use in personalized treatments and prevention in each country. The national sets will form the Genome of Europe, a reference database for research and innovation, which will help the prevention and treatment of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, among others.

Using the government financing for the Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria will create its national genome database, which will join 1+MG. The Molecular Medicine Centre already has specialists and state-of-the-art equipment. Prime Minister Yanev and Education Minister Denkov visited two laboratories, whose sequencing platforms include Bulgaria's only high-throughput, next-generation sequencer. The Medical University's Rector, Prof. Lachezar Traykov, said: "We have the specialists and technology needed for large-scale research into rare and socially significant diseases, as well as for population research and genomic data generation." RY/DD