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In Silico World

Lowering the barriers to universal adoption of In Silico Trials

  • Duration

    2021-2024

  • Coordinated by Alma Mater Studiorum

    Università di Bologna

  • Projects Partners

    14

  • Project funding

    7.6M €

The Project

In Silico World was a landmark EU-funded initiative under Horizon 2020, designed to accelerate the adoption of computer modelling and simulation technologies (in silico medicine) for medical product development and regulatory assessment. The project championed in silico trial solutions by addressing the main barriers to their uptake: development, validation, accreditation, optimisation, exploitation, information, and training. Over four years, a consortium of 14 partners led by the University of Bologna advanced 11 innovative in silico solutions targeting diseases such as osteoporosis, tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, cerebral aneurysms, breast cancer, and COVID-19, marking a major step forward for digital health innovation.

“The goal was ambitious: reduce the cost and time needed to bring new treatments to market, without compromising safety. Thanks to in silico trials, that vision is becoming reality.”
 — Prof. Marco Viceconti (UNIBO)

Our role in the project

As a core partner, VPH led the project’s communication, stakeholder engagement, and community-building activities. We led communication and dissemination activities, established the Community of Practice for In Silico Trials on Slack (CoP), developed training programmes and educational materials to strengthen workforce capacity, and engaged key stakeholders, from regulators and clinicians to patients, to foster adoption and awareness. VPH also ensured that the project’s growth aligned with ethical, legal, and societal values, promoting responsible and inclusive innovation.

Outcomes

In Silico World didn’t just create prototypes, it laid the foundation for a sustainable transformation of medical innovations to practice:

  • Curated benchmark datasets for validation
  • Advanced computational strategies for simulation performance
  • Rallied the community on technical standards and best practices
  • Developed regulatory pathways and policy blueprints
  • Devised business models for real-world deployment
  • Produced a wide variety of infographics and video animations for a diverse audience