On April 6, 2021, leaders of Hanoi Medical University and Vingroup Big Data Institute discussed key cooperation directions to build a biobank and develop precision medicine solutions serving Vietnamese people.
On the morning of April 6, 2021, leaders of Hanoi Medical University, Prof. Ta Thanh Van – Chairman of the University Council and some researchers had a working session at VinBigdata to discuss their cooperation in bioinformatics research, thus promoting the development of precision medicine in Vietnam. Accordingly, two main cooperation directions include: synergizing in resources (both financial and human resources) and enhancing data sharing. The purpose is to build a biobank and develop a variety of biomedical solutions for practical applications in medical examination and treatment which is specific to Vietnamese people.
In October 2020, VinBigdata and Hanoi Medical University officially signed a cooperation agreement on researching Disease Risk Assessment based on the Vietnamese genome. The project aims to build a database of genetic variants related to common genetic diseases in Vietnam (such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s/Alzheimer’s). It is conducted using 1000 Vietnamese human genome data of VinBigdata and samples collected at Hanoi Medical University.
The final results will be a premise to develop affordable screening chips to assist doctors and genetic consultants in diagnosis and treatment, thereby making extensive screening for millions of Vietnamese people become achievable in the near future. The chips will be specifically designed for the characteristics of the Vietnamese genome, ensuring higher accuracy than foreign commercial chips that are generally designed for many populations.
There are currently about 100,000 genetic variants associated with disease. However, only 14% of them belong to Asians. This can cause a certain bias when applying the world disease risk prediction model to a particular country. Therefore, the development of a screening chip that predicts disease risk based on Vietnamese genome characteristics is expected to accelerate the development of precision medicine in Vietnam, gradually improving public health.
Within Biomedical Informatics research, VinBigdata is investing and cooperating in major projects, including: VinGen Data Portal (a biomedical data analysis, management and sharing System); Predicting disease risk and adverse drug reactions based on genetic characteristics; Researching solutions for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. VinBigdata hopes to enhance cooperation with Hanoi Medical University to research and implement new projects on biomedical informatics, such as building a database of SARS-CoV-2 genes in Vietnam, thus providing the community with practical and meaningful medical solutions.
