Artificial intelligence (AI) is altering the way new medications are produced, providing promise for faster, less expensive, and more effective therapies for difficult ailments. Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, CEO of Insilico Medicine, demonstrated a green tablet that his business produced to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a severe lung illness that has no known therapy. Although not yet licensed, the medicine has showed encouraging benefits in preliminary clinical trials.
Insilico Medicine is part of a rising trend in which artificial intelligence (AI) is utilized to accelerate drug discovery, which typically takes 10-15 years and costs more than $2 billion. Many new biotech businesses and huge pharmaceutical corporations, like Google’s Isomorphic Labs, are entering this AI-powered competition. AI promises to save time, money, and boost the success rate of medication development, which presently fails around 90% of the time during clinical trials.
AI has two important roles in drug discovery. First, it identifies targets, which are particular genes or proteins associated with a disease. Traditionally, scientists would conduct experiments in laboratories to identify these targets, but AI can swiftly evaluate huge datasets to suggest new ones. Second, AI uses generative AI to produce medications to treat these goals, similar to how ChatGPT generates content. This substitutes the usual trial-and-error method of evaluating hundreds of molecules by recommending the top possibilities.
Insilico Medicine, established in 2014, employs AI in both processes. Its artificial intelligence technology also anticipates clinical trial success rates, which aids in the refinement of the drug discovery process. The business has discovered a unique medicine for IPF that targets a protein called TNIK, which has never been used to treat the condition. Insilico’s generative AI created this medication in only 18 months, testing only 79 molecules—significantly quicker and less expensive than standard approaches that take years and hundreds of experiments.
Insilico currently has six medications in clinical studies, with four more set to begin testing. The business is also looking into almost 30 other compounds. All of these possible medications were developed via AI, which “dreams” up compounds that fit particular requirements.
Other firms, such as Recursion Pharmaceuticals, rely on AI yet face a different challenge: a shortage of data for AI systems to learn. Recursion creates its own data via automated experiments and analyzes it using one of the pharmaceutical industry’s fastest supercomputers. The business has previously developed a drug that targets a cancer-related gene and is currently in clinical studies for lymphoma and solid tumors.
Despite these developments, difficulties still exist. According to experts, limiting data might lead to biases in AI systems. The final test will be whether AI-created medications can routinely pass clinical trials and surpass conventional approaches. If they do, artificial intelligence may forever alter how we create medications.
The original article, written by Zoe Corbyn for BBC News, explores how AI is transforming the field of medicine. You can check out the full article here.
I’m Voss Xolani, and I’m deeply passionate about exploring AI software and tools. From cutting-edge machine learning platforms to powerful automation systems, I’m always on the lookout for the latest innovations that push the boundaries of what AI can do. I love experimenting with new AI tools, discovering how they can improve efficiency and open up new possibilities. With a keen eye for software that’s shaping the future, I’m excited to share with you the tools that are transforming industries and everyday life.