Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the healthcare industry, and one area that has been impacted is drug matching. Dr. Talia Cohen Solal, a neuroscientist and co-founder of Genetika+, has developed a new technology that uses stem cell technology and AI to match antidepressants with patients. The procedure entails generating brain cells from a patient’s blood sample, exposing them to various antidepressants, and recording cellular changes known as “biomarkers.” An AI system then processes this information, along with a patient’s medical history and genetic data, to determine the best drug and dosage for a doctor to prescribe.
Despite the fact that the technology is still in development, Genetika+ intends to go commercial next year. The company has already received funding from the European Union’s European Research Council and European Innovation Council, and it is collaborating with pharmaceutical companies to develop new precision drugs. Given that there are over 280 million people worldwide who suffer from depression, the company anticipates that its work will be in high demand.
Dr. Heba Sailem, senior lecturer in biomedical AI and data science at King’s College London, believes that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the pharmaceutical industry, which is expected to generate $1.4 trillion (£1.1 trillion) in revenue by 2021. She points out that AI has already aided in the identification of potential target genes for treating diseases, the discovery of new drugs, and the improvement of patient care by predicting the best treatment strategy.
However, according to Calum Chace, an AI expert and author, AI adoption in the pharmaceutical sector is slow. He observes that pharmaceutical companies are massive, and any significant change in the way they conduct research and development will have a wide-ranging impact on many people across multiple divisions. Furthermore, senior people got to where they are by doing things the old way, and they may be afraid of losing their value to the company if what they know how to do suddenly becomes less valuable.
Despite these obstacles, Hong Kong-based Insilico Medicine is using artificial intelligence to speed up drug discovery. The AI platform developed by the company can identify existing drugs that can be repurposed, design new drugs for known disease targets, or discover new targets and design new molecules. Its most advanced drug, a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis that is currently being evaluated in Insilico Medicine, completed the clinical trial stage in less than 18 months, a fraction of the time it normally takes to develop a new drug.
While artificial intelligence has shown tremendous promise in drug matching and drug
In Discovery, Dr. Sailem emphasises the importance of employing stringent measures before relying on its predictions. An AI model can learn the correct answer for the wrong reasons, and researchers and developers must ensure that various measures are used to avoid biases, especially when training on patient data.
Dr. Cohen Solal believes that artificial intelligence can help “solve the mystery” of which drugs work. Her technology has the potential to change the way antidepressants are prescribed and provide a more personalised approach to treatment. As AI continues to evolve and develop, we can expect to see more innovations in the healthcare industry that have the potential to improve patient outcomes and transform drug discovery and development.
