Summary
The pharmaceutical industry, a $ US trillion giant, has been notoriously slow and resistant to change. Developing a new drug used to take more than $US2.5 billion (sometimes up to $US12 billion) and took over 10 years to bring a new drug to market, with a high failure rate. 9 out of 10 drugs entering phase I clinical trials never reached patients.
However, the advent of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is disrupting this industry, bringing in an era of “pharmaceutical abundance” at much lower cost. AI could even develop a drug, perfect for you. AI is improving rapidly and accordingly, drug discovery detailed here will improve with it. Another blog!
AI Powered Drug Discovery: Faster, Cheaper and More Targeted
This groundbreaking technology is exponentially transforming the way treatments are developed for a wide range of diseases. Moderna and Pfizer used it (thankfully!), to develop mRNA Covid vaccines quickly. Astra Zeneca also used AI to produce a different vaccine type.
The Future of AI in Pharma
The integration of AI into the pharmaceutical industry is not merely an incremental improvement, but a paradigm shift. By accelerating drug discovery, reducing costs and improving the success rate of clinical trials, AI has the potential to revolutionise healthcare and improve the lives of billions.
Change is Now Happening Fast
Many large pharmaceutical companies are actively using AI to develop drugs. Some prominent examples and their partnerships include:
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Pfizer: Partners with multiple AI companies like Truveta, Gero, CytoReason, and Tempus. They also have a data sharing agreement with Vysioneer to enhance oncology clinical trials using AI. Additionally, Pfizer is developing its own AI research hub for creating predictive models and tools.
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Roche: Has established an AI hub and formed over 25 AI partnerships. Notable collaborations include Recursion Pharmaceuticals for drug discovery and development and Nvidia for research utilising AI and chip technology.
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Novartis: Invested heavily in AI drug discovery. They partnered with Google DeepMind’s Isomorphic Labs for developing new drug candidates.
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Sanofi: Partnered with Aily Labs to create an AI platform called “plai” for drug discovery, clinical trials, and manufacturing. They also have multiple partnerships with Exscientia for developing small molecule drugs.
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GlaxoSmithKline (GSK): Collaborates with Cloud Pharmaceuticals and Insilico Medicine for target identification, drug design, and lead generation using their AI platforms. GSK also has an “Advantage AI” program to explore further AI partnerships.
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AstraZeneca: Has collaborated with over 100 pharma partners and AI providers since 2015. These collaborations focus on applying machine learning to identify and develop new therapeutics for various diseases.
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Johnson & Johnson (Janssen): Explores AI applications in drug discovery, clinical trials, disease diagnosis, and manufacturing.
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Lilly: Actively invests in AI projects to enhance its “digital worker equivalent workforce.” They aim to use AI in over 100 projects, focusing on drug discovery and development.
Why This Matters
The pharmaceutical industry, known for its slow pace of innovation, is now being disrupted by AI leaders and tech innovators. AI is the most important technology accelerating us towards an extended healthspan future and is improving rapidly.
References
Even for medical professionals, it is a daunting task to keep up with the flurry of new medications and techniques!
Your blogs are a big help in explaining why it is realistic to look forward to this impetus. continuing. Thanks,, Campbell !
Thanks Tony
You are so right. For example I had an endoscopy last Wednesday which was thankfully clear, but 2 days later I saw this new technology which will make the conventional endoscopy and colonoscopy obsolete, just by swallowing a pill!
Apparently, there are 3 companies supplying this technology, one since 2001! The disadvantage is that corrective measures can’t be done without an anaesthetic and that awful colonoscopy preparation!
I find it all quite amazing. Hope they invent a pill, or equivalent, that will float around my brain, identify the numerous gaps and faults, and FIX them. Far-fetched? Nothing seems far-fetched anymore!
Graham
I am with you Graham – amazing. They probably will do what you suggest. But any defects will likely be fixed by making you young again (e.g. back to your prime, say 21), if you wanted to??
Dr David Sinclair, an Australian at Harvard says it will be possible in 10 years.