Despite some setbacks in the field, such as clinical trial failures by companies like Exscientia and BenevolentAI, there remains significant interest in AI's potential to revolutionize drug discovery. Google spin-out Isomorphic Labs, which collaborates with Eli Lilly and Novartis, plans to begin testing its AI-designed drugs this year. With over 460 AI startups in the drug discovery space and $60 billion in investments, both big pharma and investors are optimistic about the technology's future impact.
Key takeaways:
- Google is developing a collection of open AI models for drug discovery called TxGemma, which will be released through its Health AI Developer Foundations program.
- TxGemma can understand regular text and the structures of therapeutic entities, such as chemicals, molecules, and proteins, to help predict properties of potential new therapies.
- While AI has not yet revolutionized drug discovery, there is significant investment and interest in its potential, with over 460 AI startups working in the space and $60 billion invested.
- Despite some clinical trial failures, big pharma and investors remain enthusiastic about AI's potential in drug discovery, with companies like Isomorphic Labs expecting to begin testing AI-designed drugs this year.