Artificial intelligence has played an increasingly important role in many industries when developing new, cutting edge technologies. With the recent pandemic, both the pharmaceutical and biotech industries have had to utilize more technology than ever before in order to meet the increased demand for vaccines. By streamlining research, production and clinical trials, AI has helped get treatment options to market faster than ever before.

AI Explained

According to DAP, artificial intelligence in pharma refers to the use of automated algorithms to perform tasks which traditionally rely on human intelligence. Machine learning, a subset of AI, provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed according to expert.ai  Utilizing machine learning has the potential to drastically decrease discovery timelines. Forbes notes that AI technologies can help researchers make more accurate predictions relating to disease and the future of drugs, identify new patients for clinical trials, assist with disease identification/diagnosis and develop new drug platforms. The share of jobs requiring AI has increased by 450% since 2013, per Adobe. Companies implementing AI technologies have a competitive edge over those who aren’t because their discovery time is cut, they require less human capital and they have access to information they previously didn’t.

Companies using AI

Novartis focuses on a wide range of therapeutic areas including oncology, cardiovascular, immunology and neuroscience. They stress their commitment to ethical and responsible use of AI. Although AI has the ability to give machines the ability to automate discovery without relying on humans, Novartis enforces a human centric design when deploying AI technologies. This is done to create a mutually beneficial relationship between human knowledge, expertise and computational machinery.

To speed up discovery, Novartis has implemented machine learning into their screening process. As normal, their researchers will treat cells with different experimental compounds but they will rely on machine learning to classify the digital images of these cells. Since the algorithm will have grouped cells with similar compounds together, researchers will be one step further in the discovery process. Research teams can also use images from the machine learning algorithm to predict which untested compounds are worth further exploring, saving them more time in the long run.

Similar to Novartis, Verge Genomics is also implementing AI into their drug discovery process through automation. It has been noted that many drugs fail because they only target one gene at a time. Their focus on diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s requires them to consider a multitude of causes for these conditions as they present different symptoms from patient to patient. According to Digital Authority Partners, Verge Genomics uses the same technologies that power Google’s search engines. This allows them to map out hundreds of genes responsible for causing ALS and Alzheimer’s and then finding drugs that target them all at once.

AI has the potential to increase innovation across R&D to develop novel drug platforms, engage patients and streamline business operations. As the pharmaceutical and biotech industries continue to implement AI into their skillsets, the opportunities are endless.

The PharmaOut team remains committed to doing our part to fight COVID-19 and help keep our families safe. Our team of expert recruiters and consultants have years of experience to assist our clients in successfully continuing their business with our staffing, consulting, HR and investigator meeting services. Please contact us if you would like to discuss how PharmaOut can be your strategic partner.

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