The first drug developed by artificial intelligence enters the stage of clinical research
This fact will probably one day be noted by historians. DSP-1181 is the first molecule designed by an algorithm that - if everything goes as planned - will help people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
The key molecule called DSP-1181 was created thanks to simulations carried out by an artificial intelligence algorithm, which analyzed a huge base of chemical compounds and reactions between them and on this basis developed a final product that met all the criteria set by the British startup Exscientia and the Japanese pharmaceutical company Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma.
Artificial intelligence is already being used to diagnose patients, but it was used for the first time to develop a new medicine, 'says Andrew Hopkins, CEO of Exscientia.
Artificial Intelligence "created" the drug five times faster than people
If DSP-1181 actually passes the clinical trials phase and the production of new drugs is based on it, then we will be able to consider this event as the beginning of a new stage in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Finding the right molecules requires billions of decisions. Even more important is the development of the drug itself based on them - adds Hopkins.
That is why creating new drugs is very expensive. You need to have your own laboratory and experienced staff who know what they are looking for and try new combinations and chemical reactions to achieve it. By default, the process of creating a drug, counting until the approval phase of clinical tests, takes about five years. By using artificial intelligence, the British and Japanese managed to shorten this process to 12 months.
The savings associated with this is a strong argument for not stopping at creating a single drug. Nobody plans it, anyway. Exscientia boasts that it uses its algorithms to develop further potential drugs for use in the treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
The beginning of a new era
Doctors are already saying that if DSP-1181 passes the testing phase successfully, it is possible that in a few years most new drugs will be created based on simulations performed by algorithms.
Looking from today's perspective, this makes great sense. Machine learning algorithms have the enormous advantage over man that in incomparably shorter time they are able to analyze all available input data and explore the possibilities they offer. People act differently, hence it takes us much longer to discover something new. Or it literally happens by a happy coincidence (or unhappy - it depends on which discovery we are talking about).
However, I recommend enthusiastically to wait for the test results. The new molecule will be clinically tested in Japan. The research will be conducted as part of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma.
The first drug developed by artificial intelligence enters the stage of clinical research
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