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06 March 2020Supercomputer against the epidemic. It may seem the title of a science fiction film, instead it is the project considered "a reference in Europe to contrast the coronavirus with supercomputing". And the Cineca super-brain is also working within this study to find the best treatments and the coronavirus vaccine. The maxi-computer of the interuniversity consortium based in Bologna, in fact, is part of a European consortium which has been awarded a three million euro loan from the EU Commission. The public-private group that will carry out the research, led by the pharmaceutical Dompé, brings together 18 institutions and research centers in seven European countries. And it is actually Italian traction. Besides the Cineca, the Polytechnic and the University of Milan, the Federico II of Naples, the University of Cagliari, the BigData association, the INFN and the Spallanzani Institute of Rome also belong to it. This is the "Exscalate4CoV" project and is, in fact, "the world's best performing supercomputing platform", capable of evaluating "three million molecules per second", starting from a "chemical library of 500 billion molecules" . In this way, we plan to identify "the safest and most promising drugs for the immediate treatment of the already infected population, followed by the identification of molecules capable of inhibiting the pathogenesis of the coronavirus to counter future contagions".

The supercomputing platform will be integrated with artificial intelligence systems, 3D modeling and X-ray measurements to carry out first and then validate the experiments conducted in the laboratory. The available drugs, or those in an advanced stage of development, which can be effective against the virus will be identified, defining together with the European drug agency "an effective testing model to speed up the time for therapeutic use". But it also aims to identify "the genes involved in the development of the disease". The supercomputing centers of Cineca, Bsc and Julich will deal with simulations on molecules, with the support of the Milanese universities. Downstream of the experiments, the University of Cagliari will complete the biological evaluation of possible disease inhibitors, while the medical chemistry team of Federico II of Naples will support the selection of the best compounds and will deal with the chemical synthesis of the best candidates for the care. Finally, once the best molecule is found, Spallanzani from Rome will carry out the tests on the patients.