Artificial intelligence has gradually been growing in popularity in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry over the last decade or so.
This technology is used to create automated algorithms that perform complex tasks we traditionally relied on human intelligence alone for in the past.
Without this technology, human intelligence was the only thing scientists could use to create and develop new drugs.
For a lot of disorders, the only way we have gained knowledge about them is by data collected from collaborations between scientists in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.
Not only is this process long winded, but it can also have a significant impact on our ability to treat and manage rare, difficult and expensive disorders.
The good news is that, in the last five years, artificial intelligence has almost completely redefined the way scientists develop new drugs, tackle diseases and create better treatment plans.
These discoveries have led to a greater level of uptake in AI technology in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, with Digital Authority Partners reporting that 70% of those working in this field believe that AI will be very import going forwards.
As aforementioned, this renewed positive attitude towards AI is great for people suffering with rare, difficult and expensive to treat disorders.
Here are just a few ways that AI is helping to improve the treatment and management options for those who fall into the above categories.
It Can Be Used To Develop New Drugs
One of the biggest problems facing the pharmaceutical industry at the moment is the cost of discovering and manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs.
This means that, in order to make the cost worth it, companies have to be selective about the drugs they are interested in creating.
This often means that those who suffer from rare diseases, or ones that don’t respond to easier treatment options, are unable to access the treatment they need—either because it doesn’t exist, or is too expensive to produce.
The pharma industry in the age of artificial intelligence means that this is slowly changing, however, with companies being allocated the necessary funds to delve deeper into finding treatments for rare disorders.
One of the big projects that have taken on this challenge is collaboration between Cyclica and Bayer G4A.
Together, the companies will combine Cyclica’s loud-based proteome screening platform with Bayer G$A’s visions of improving drug designs around the world to investigate the profiles of small molecules with the help of AI technology.
It’s hoped that this will help people with rare diseases have access to treatment faster, and it may also make drugs cheaper in the long run for disorders of all kinds.
Makes Finding Treatment Options For Rare Diseases More Affordable
With the aforementioned limited funds for drug discovery, the pharma industry has to be extremely selective and make difficult decisions about where it allocates its funding.
Unfortunately, this means that the 350 million people suffering from 7000 different rare diseases often don’t get a look into said funding, leaving them without much needed treatment options.
Artificial intelligence has changed this, however, as the technology has made drug discovery a lot cheaper and more accessible.
This understanding has led to more companies being provided with the necessary funds to start exploring common symptoms between patients, which should increase the diagnosis rates between patients suffering from the same diseases.
Not only will this provide patients with a sense of identity that allows them to connect with others who share their condition, but it also helps with creating treatments for these rare conditions because common symptoms have been identified.
The good news is that this is already something that is underway, with two leading biotech companies provided with the necessary funding to explore this further.
The first is Healx, a UK-based biotech firm who have secured $10 million in Series A funding. The second, a Swiss based biotech company named Entrada, were able to secure a much larger sum of $59 million.
It Can Be Used To Create Advanced Technology For Complex Diseases
The pharma industry is currently extremely invested in finding innovative solutions that make it easier to develop treatments for complex conditions that we currently have little understanding of.
Two of these conditions are ALS and Alzheimer’s which, despite the devastating impact they have of sufferers, have very few treatment options once the disease has taken control.
Although there are a number of trials taking place to try and slow down the development of these diseases, it’s thought that artificial intelligence will play a vital part in this process.
In fact, one company called Verge Genomics are already looking into ways to find and test medication to help these conditions by using artificial intelligence software to automate their medication discovery process.
Using similar advanced technology that is used by Google’s search engines, Verge Economics has been able to map out hundreds of genes that are responsible for causing specific diseases.
They have also been able to overcome a barrier that affects many suffering from rare or complex disorders, which involved testing one gene at a time, by heavily relying on artificial intelligence to gather and analyze their data.
Conclusion
As you can see from this article, the uses for artificial intelligence could be crucial in improving the lives of patients suffering from rare or difficult to treat diseases in the future.
With many innovative pharma and biotech companies already working with artificial intelligence technology to come up with affordable and accessible solutions, we are likely to see vast improvements for the treatment and management of many conditions over the course of the next decade.
The technology we have mentioned, like using Google’s search engine algorithms to target hundreds of genes at a time, are the pioneers in what is bound to be a new way of medicine in the not-so-far future.
Article Submitted By Community Writer